
Class 
Book 



U«S. SANITARY COMMISSION, Yi^sUro iej^r. 

NO. 96. 



THE 



U. S. i:.ANITARY COMMISSION 



VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI, 



During the War of the REBELLioi^, 

1861--1866. - 



PINAL REPORT OF 

DR. J. S. JSTEWBERPtY, 

Secretary Western Department. 



^ CLEVELAND: 

FAIRBANKS, BENEDICT & CO., PRINTERS, HERALD OFFICE. 

18 71- 

c 



Cleveland, O., September 1, 1866. 
Rev. H. W. BELLOWS, D. D., 

President United States Sanitary Commission: 

Deae Sir— I have the honor to transmit herewith my final Report, as Secretary 
of the Western Department of the United States Sanitary Commission, in which I 
have given a brief summary of the operations of the Sanitary Commission in the 
Valley of the Mississippi during the War of the Rebellion. 

With great respect, 

■ Tour obedient servant, 

J. S. NEWBERRY, 
Secretary Western Depai-tment U. S. Sanitary Commission. 



PREFATORY NOTE, 



The delay which has occurred in the appearance of this Report seems to 
require a word of explanation. 

The Report was written in 1866, and was ready for publication at the date of 
the accompanying letter to Dr. Bellows. At that time, however, a general history 
of the work of the Sanitary Commission was in the course of preparation by 
Dr. H. A. Warriner, and much of my material was in his hands. "When it came 
back to me, I was too busy or too much on the wing to be able to devote the 
necessary time to the printing of it. I have continued to be equally occupied to 
the present: and the Report would not now see the light, had not a friend— who 
was a most efficient co-laborer in the work here described — kindly offered to 
assume the duty of seeing it through the press. 

Owing to the serious and prolonged illness of Dr. Warriner— the fruit of his 
labors and exposure at Memphis and Vicksburg— the publication of his general 
history of the Sanitarj^ Commission, later and more detailed than Mr. Stille's, is 
indefinitely postponed. The story which fills the succeeding pages may therefore 
acquire some interest and value beyond its very moderate intrinsic merits from 
the probability that it will never be told in the better way of which the rare 
qualifications of Dr. Warriner gave assurance. 

J. S. N. 

Cleveland, O., June 1, 1871. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I 



HISTOEICAL SUMMAEY. 



CHAPTER I. 

EvBNTS OF 1861.— Introduction of the Sanitary Commission into the Mississippi 
yalley. Its Organization. Field Work in 1861. Report of Dr. Read. 
Review of the Tear 17—26 

CHAPTER II. 

EvENiS OF 1862.— The Spring Campaign. Eort Donelson. The Wounded. 
Battle of Pittsburg Landing. The Hospital Boats. A Generous Rivalry. 
Dr. \Iui-ray's Letter. A Good Work well done. A Change of Base. Occu- 
paticri of Western Kentucky and West Tennessee. Report of Dr. Warri- 
ner. West Virginia in 1862. Kansas in 1862. Enlistment of Nurses. The 
Campaign in Kentucky. The Commission at PerrjTille. Among the 
Wounded. Soup Making. Distributing Stores. Needless Suffering. 
Where -.he Fault Lies. A Remedy Suggested. Establishment of the 
Louisville Office. The Hospital Directorj*. Expansion of our Work. 
Hospital Visitors. Hospital Cars. Canvassing Agents. Supply Steamer.. 2T— 74 

CHAPTER III. 

Events of 1863.- a Year of Victory. Battle of Murfreesboro. Testimonials. 
Military Mo^^ments. Scurvy Arrested. Action of the Ohio Legislature. 
The Vicksbuig Campaign. Milliken's Bend. Haines' Bluff. Affairs at 
Helena. Dowi the Mississippi. L'p the Yazoo. The Steamer "Dunleith." 
More Testimon^ls, The Sanitary Bepoi-ter. Review of 1863. The Autumn 
Campaign. Miltarj- Changes. Wayside Relief. Battle of Chickamauga. 
Sanitary Supply Trains. At Bridgeport. Battle of Chattanooga. Our 
Chattanooga Agency, Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge. "Bless the 
Sanitary Commission." Lodges and Feeding Stations. Central Kentucky 
and East Tenness^ in 1863. The Knoxville Agency. Loyalty of East 
Tennessee. Sanitair Fairs. A Twice Blessed Charity 7;5— 147 

CHAPTER IV. 

Events of 1864.— The Army in Georgia. Effective Work. Hospital Garden at 
Chattanooga. Survey st the Field. Increased Efficiency. Refugees in 
Kansas. Nature of Supflies. Special Relief Work. East Tennessee. The 
Fall Campaign. The Mf^ch to the Sea. To Savannah with Sherman. 
Battles of Franklin and NJ^hville. The Wounded at Franklin. A Timely 
Supply. Loyal Women of Wanklin. An Incident .148—178 



10 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

CHAPTER V. 

Events of 1865.— Last Days of the War. Relief of Union Prisoners at Vicks- 
burg. Feeding Station at Vicksburg. Union Prisoners at Cahawba, Ala. 
Department of the Cumberland in 1865. The Army of the Tennessee at 
Louisville. Letter of General Meigs. Acknowledgments 179—194 



PART II. 



THE SUPPLY DEPARTMENT. 



CHAPTER I, 

Intkoduction.— Organization of the Department of Material Supplies. The 
First Wants. Value of Voluntary Co-operation. Prompt Organization. 
Cash Value of Supplies. Favors of Transportation. Supply Table. 
Report of Stores Distributed .-197—217 

CHAPTER II. 
Chicago Bkamch— North-Western Sanitary Commission 318 — 329 

CHAPTER III. 
^IiLWAUKEK Branch— Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society 330—338 

CHAPTER IV. 
Iowa Branch— Iowa Sanitary Commission 339—341 

CHAPTER V. 
MicnTCAN linANCM Detroit Soldiers' Aid Society.. 34^—249 

CHAPTER VI. 
CiiKVEi.ANl) Branch— Soldiers' Aid Society of Nortliern Ohio. ...250—366 

CHAPTER VII. 
Cor,UMnrs HwANOf .267—369 

C II A P T E It VIII. 
CiNcrNNATi Mkanch 370—284 

CHAPTER IX. 
Hi'FFAi,o HiiANCii (Jciicrai Aid Society for tlie Army.. 285—289 

CH APT K R X. 
!»iTTS»ri{fii{ JJkancii Pitlshinrli Sanitary ('omriiitt<e 290—298 



CONTENTS. 11 

CHAPTER XI. 
Kentucky Branch— Louisville Sanitary Commission - — 399—310 

CHAPTER XII. 
New Albany Branch - .311—313 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Hospital Gardens --- - 314—323 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Manufacture of Concentrated Beef 333—335 



P A R T III. 

SPECIAL RELIEF DEPARTMENT. 

CHAPTER I. 
Introduction. — Origin and Organization of the Department of Special Relief. 

First Special Relief Service. Relief Duties .-i. .^31-336 

CHAPTER II. 
Soldiers' Home— Cleveland!, O -,337—353 

CHAPTER III. 
Soldiers' Home— Columbus, O. -.353—356 

CHAPTER IV. 
Soldiers' Home— Cincinnati, O 357—360 

CHAPTER V. 
Soldiers' Home— Louisville, Ky... -361—368 

CHAPTER VI. 
Soldiers' Home— Nashville, Tenn - 369—378 

CHAPTER VII. 
Soldiers' Home— Camp Nelson, Ky -...- 379—386 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Soldiers' Home— Cairo, 111 - 38i)— 395 

CHAPTER IX. 
SoLDiijRS' Lodge— Memphis, Tenn — 39(»~40<i 



12 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

CHAPTER X. 
SoLDiEKS' Home— Paducah, Ky 404—406 

CHAPTER XI. 
Soldiers' Ho>rE— Detroit, Mich. .-. 407—413 

CHAPTER XII. 
Soldiers' Rest— Bufifalo. N. Y ...414—418 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Soldiers' Home— New Albany, Ind. 419—421 

CHAPTER X I Y . 
Soldiers' Home— Jeflfersonville, Ind 422—425 

CHAPTER XY. 
The Hospital Directory 428—445 

CHAPTER XYI. 
Hospital Visitors 446—478 

CHAPTER X Y 1 1 . 
Hospital Cars 474—48;^ 

CHAPTER X^^III. 
Hospital Transports 484—493 

CHAPTER XIX. 
Feeding Stations 494—502 

CHAPTER XX. 
Pensio.n and Claim Agency ...503—510 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Employment Agency 511—517 

CHAPTER XXII. 

COLOHKI) HKCIU-ITS AM) ItKFIMW.KS ,518—536 



PART IV. 

FINANCIAL REPORT. 

FlUAKClAL Ukport. Sum niary i>f Casli ExiKMidif tires .541—54;? 



PART I 



HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 



CHAPTEE I. 



:E"VEisrTS o :f issi 



INTEODUCTION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION IN^TO THE 
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 

The outbreak of the rebellion found me at Washington, 
D. C, in the service of the War Department, with which I 
had been connected for the five years previous, as Acting 
Assistant Surgeon and Geologist. On the 14th of June I 
was elected a member of the United States Sanitary 
Commission, and immediately took part in the meeting 
then being held at Washington. From the first I felt that 
my special function in the Board was to become a medium 
through which the Sanitary Commission should extend its 
organization and benefits over the Great West; and my 
first work was to suggest the names of good nien in the 
diiferent Western States, who should be elected Associate 
Members of the Commission. In furtherance of this object, 
on the 1st of July I came to the West, joined Rev. Dr. 
Bellows and Dr. W. H. Mussey at Cincinnati, and went to 
Cairo, where there was then a garrison of six thousand 
troops, of which we made an inspection.'* 

It is not, perhaps, generally known that Cairo had been 
seized, on the 24th of April, by a detachment of men 
brought down rapidly and secretly by the Illinois Central 
Railroad Company, just in time to anticipate a plan formed 



* The results of this first sanitary inspection at the WePt are given in Document No. 26, 
Sanitary Commission Series. 



18 SAXITAEY C0MM:ISSI0X — WESTEEX DEPARTMENT. 

for its seizure by the rebels. Tlie transaction was an inter- 
esting and important one, and saved to ns a point wliicli, 
in strategic value, was second to no otlier one along our 
frontier. 

On tlie 1st of September I relinquished my position in 
tlie War Department, and, at tlie request of the Board, 
devoted myself entirely to the work of the Sanitary Com- 
mission — taking the position of Secretary of the Western 
Department, and having the supervision of all the work of 
the Commission in the Valley of the Mississippi. On the 
18th of September I established my head-quarters at Cleve- 
land, O. — where the Soldiers' Aid Society, organized on 
the 20tli of April, had already attained a vigorous groT\i:li — 
and, by correspondence and visitation, began the work of 
turning into one great channel the thousand springs of 
philanthropy and patriotism that were bursting out in 
hamlet and city all over the land. 

A Sanitary Commission having been created by General 
Fremont at St. Louis, I was instructed — at the meeting of 
the Board on the 18th of September — to visit St. Louis 
and confer \^ith this Commission relative to a union ^^ith 
our body. On the 23d of September I met the gentlemen 
composing the St. Louis Sanitary Commission, gave them 
an exposition of the aims and methods of our organization, 
and submitted a proposition for consolidation. After due 
consideration they chose to be independent, and assumed 
the entire resjDonsibility of the care of all the troops quar- 
tered or on duty west of the Mississippi. 

From St. Louis I went to Chicago, where I invited the 
gentlemen wlio had been elected Associate Members of the 
Sanitary Commission — Hon. J. X. Arnold, Col. J. W. 
Foster, E. AV. BLatchford, Esq., and Drs. J. G. Isham and 
H. A. Jolmson — to my room at the Sherman House, gave 
them some account of the organization of the Sanitary 



ITS OEGAXIZATIOX. 19 

Commission. disTribiitfd its documents, and proposed that 
tlie movement wliicli had ah-eady begnn there shotikl be 
shaped into the f'ormatictn of a Branch in connection A^dth 
it. A fcAv davs stibsecptentlv this was done, and on the 
17th of Octol^er the Cliicago Branch. Avhich was destined to 
perform so important a part in otir AA-ork at the West, was 
organized. 

On my rettirn to CleA^ehand. I called a meeting of the 
Associate Alfml^ers residing there. AAdio inclttded in theii' 
number sc)mH of the most esteemed and inhnential citizens, 
and sectired tlie fijrmation of a Branch Commission, to 
co-operate A\dtli the Soldiers" Aid Society, AAdiicli latter A\-as 
composed C'f ladies only. 

HaAdng prepared the AA-ay by correspondence, in the 
latter part (:'f Octol^er I AA-ent to Colnmbns, Cincinnati and 
LotiisAdlle. AA-here, by the assistance of my friends, Dr. S. M. 
Smith, Hon. G-eorge Hoadly. Dr. Mnssey. Dr. T. S. BelL and 
Mr. HeyAA-ood. meetings of the Associate Meml")ers of the 
Sanitary C^jnimission AA-ere held and Branch Commissions 
organized. AAdiicli entered at once AAdtli energy upon their 
AA-ork. AbijiiT the same time. 1\a- means of correspondence. 
Branch CL')mmissions AA-ere organized at Detroit and Indian- 
apolis, of A\~hicli the latter AA-as snbsecLiiently OYerpowered by 
State mhtience. The former continued in prosperity and 
ttsefhlness t^:' the cL^se of the AA-ir. An attempt was also 
made to organize a Branch at Pittsbnrgh. Pa.. AAdiicli for the 
time failed. A s id .-^ sequent effc)rt aa-lis more successful, and 
early in 1S63 one of our niijst actlA^e and efficient co-oper- 
ating sc>cieties aa-is formed there. Aleantime a constant lire 
of addresses, circulars, letters and ncAA-spaper articles AA-as 
kept up hy my frieiids and myself, and A^ery soon the 
greater part of the home held, in the States west of the 
Alleghanies and east of the Mississii^pi. AA-as pledged to 
co-operation AAdtli us. Thus the foundation AA-as laid. up(_ui 



20 SAXITARY CO:vrMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPAET3j:E:srT. 

wliicli all the superstructure of our organization for the 
preparation of hospital supplies was subsequently erected. 

FIELD TV' O R K IX 1861. 

While the necessary foundation was being laid for a 
supply of hospital stores, by the organization of Branches 
and auxiliary Soldiers' Aid Societies, the wants of the 
troops, to meet which this preparation was made, were not 
neglected. During the summer of 1861 actiye militaiy oper- 
ations were carried on only in Missouri and West Virginia, 
yet in all the Western States camps of rendezyous and in- 
struction wei'e formed, in which large numbers of troops 
were gathered. These, both officers and men, were generally 
new to military life, ignorant of the theory and inexperi- 
enced in the practice of their duties ; too frequently also 
imperfectly equipped and unproyided with such things as 
were necessary for their comfort and health. Sickness was 
soon rife among the new recruits. A hospital was a neces- 
sary adjunct to eyery cam}), and one which, in its organiza- 
tion and equipment, frequently needed contributions both 
of thought and material. To meet these gromng wants, 
visits of inspection were made b}' our Associate Members — 
many of wliom were experienced surgeons — or by myself, 
to all the principal points of rendezvous of troops, and by 
practical suggestions or contributions of material, much was 
done to improve the condition both of the well and the 
sick. A corps of Inspectors was also employed, whose 
duty it was to mnkc tlioi'ougli examination of the camps and 
li()S]>itnls ill the lirld, and to take cognizance of all material 
wants and measurers for their supply, as well as to convey 
to commanding officers and surgeons, by oral or docu- 
mentaiy instruction, the ex])(M-ience of other wars for their 
assistance in the ix-ifoiinancc of the duty whicli had fallen 
to tlicii- lot. I)j-. ('. I), (fiiswold was appointed Inspector 



PIELD WORK IX 1861. 21 

for Western Yii'ginia. He received from General Rosecrans 
all possible favors and facilities, and made repeated rounds 
of inspection tlirongii all tlie camps and hospitals in that 
District. On the 8th of October a depot of supplies was 
established at Wheeling, the first distributing depot at the 
West. This was placed in charge of a competent store- 
keeper, and was the source fL'om which the hospitals 
established at Wheeling. Gfrafton, Clarksburgh, Parkers- 
burg, etc., were supplied with a large portion of tlieii' 
equipment, as well as all the articles of extra diet which 
they received for some months. For the garrison at Cairo 
Dr. G. Aigner, an accomplished surgeon from the city of 
IS'ew York, was appointed resident Inspector. Through his 
agency much was done to improve the sanitary condition of 
the forces stationed in that vicinity, both by the exercise of 
his well earned influence, and the distribution of a large 
amount of hospital stores received through Chicago, Cleve- 
land, and the Woman" s Central Association of Xew York. 
In the performance of his duties as Sanitary Inspector, Dr. 
Aigner enjoyed the cordial sympathy and efficient aid of 
General U. S. Grant, of whose intelligent appreciation and 
unvarying kindness he speaks in the strongest terms. 

In Missouri the summer and fall of 1861 were periods of 
great military acti^uty. The attention of the Western Sani- 
tary Commission being mostly occupied in the establishment 
and care of hospitals in St. Louis — a duty delegated to 
them by General Fremont — there was much left to be done 
by others for troops in the field. Yisits were made by our 
Associate Members — Rev. Robert Collier and E. W. Blatcli- 
ford. Esq. of Cliicago — by whom much was done, through 
personal efforts and the stores they distributed, for the 
comfort of the sick and wounded. About the same time 
Dr. W. P. Buell, appointed Inspector for the United States 
Sanitary. Commission in this District, made rounds of 



22 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTEEX DEPAETMEXT. 

inspection and distributed supplies to all the important 
hospitals. In the autumn a distinct Sanitaiy Department 
was created, including the trans-Mississippi States. This 
was placed in charge of an Associate Secretary, Dr. J. H. 
Douglas, assisted by Dr. H. A. AVarriner, who, as Inspector, 
succeeded Dr. Buell. 

In September the rnion forces crossed the Ohio and 
occupied the State of Kentucky. They were commanded 
first by General Anderson, afterward by General Sherman 
with JN'elson and Thomas as his chief subordinates. Re- 
ceiying sad accounts of destitution and suffering among the 
hastily, and as yet imperfectly, equipped Kentucky troops 
and the lo jdl men of Tennessee who had been driyen from 
their homes by the rebel forces, I felt called to go to their 
relief. I therefore went to Kentucky in the latter part of 
October, taking with me two experienced surgeons, Drs. 
^y. M. Prentice and A. X. Read, both of Ohio, to act as 
Inspectors. The Medical Directorship of the Department 
of the Cumberland was in the hands of Dr. Robert Murray, 
U. S. A., a gentleman of large yiews, fulh^ aliye to his 
responsibility, but heayily burdened with his cares and- 
duties. By liim we were cordially receiyed and our proffered 
aid was gratefully accepted. 

The liospitals at Louisyille were at this time greatly 
crowded by the sick rapidly concentrated there from the 
different columns of General Sherman's command; were 
defective in tlieir construction and wanting many things 
essential to the well being of their inmates. There, as 
elsewhere at the West, the absence of suitable buildings 
rendered it im])ossible that the general hospitals could be 
made all tliat was to be desired, but the necessary changes 
and adai)tations were as rapidly and thorouglily effected 
by the Medical Director as could be done with the means 
at his coinmaiid. On liis requisition and that of the 



KEPOET OF DE. EEAD. 23 

President of tlie Louisville Branch Commission — Dr. T. S. 
Bell — over two tliousand sets of liospital bedding and 
clothing were at once forwarded to this point by the Cleve- 
land Aid Society. 

Having acquainted myself with the distribution of the 
troops in Kentucky, I sent Dr. Read to examine into the 
condition and wants of those stationed on the line of the 
IS'ashville Railroad, and such as were located on the Ohio, 
w^est of Louisville and east of Paducah. Dr. Prentice 
meanwhile was commissioned to inspect the columns of 
General Thomas, south from Lexington, and that of General 
Nelson, in the Valley of the Licking. From these gentlemen 
requisitions were from time to time received for the suppl}^ 
of the wants discovered in the camps and hospitals which 
they visited. These requisitions -w^ere promptly filled. 
During the month of November more than a hundred boxes 
of hospital stores were forw^arded to Kentucky from Cleve- 
land alone, and in addition large contributions were made 
by the patriotic ladies of Columbus, 0., and Detroit, Mich. 
Dr. Bead finished his round of inspection in about three 
wrecks, forwarding detailed reports of twenty-four regi- 
ments, and a general summary of observations, to which 
were atfixed the following remarks, descriptive of the 
method in which his inspections were made : 

It gives me pleasure to state that, in making these inspections, 
I have been received everywhere kindly and courteously. Brigadier 
General McCook gave me an introduction to his brigade surgeons, 
Drs. Meylert and Chambers, who entered cordially into the object 
of my mission, accompanied me in my inspections at Camp Nevin, 
and otherwise rendered me all the aid in their power. They ex- 
pressed themselves as being greatly aided in their duties by my yisifc, 
from my efforts to co-operate with them in a given object. Generals 
Johnson, "Wood, Eousseau and Naglee, of Camp Nevin, and General 
Hazzard, of Camp Holman, furnished me with an attendant to 
each of. the regiments in their respective brigades, and furthered 



24 SAIS^ITAKY COMMISSION — ATESTEEN DEPAKTMEKT. 

the inquiries and objects of my mission to the ntmost of their 
ability. The manner of my examinations was as follows: After an 
introduction to the commanding officer and the surgeons, I asked 
that, if it would in no respect interfere with military duties, the cap- 
tains of companies might be called and that I might be introduced 
to them. After the introduction I stated to them, in few words, the 
object of my visit and asked them to go with me to the tents of 
their respectiye companies, then to return and listen to the ques- 
tions I was required to put. * * * * After asking and 
answering those which had more particular reference to the duties 
of captains, I thanked them for the kind manner in which they 
had giren me aid, and detained them no longer. 

I then with the surgeons visited the sinks, the hospital, the 
sutler's store and the commissary department. Eeturning to the 
colonel's tent, unless, as was frequently the case, he accompanied 
me in these visits, I made to him and the surgeons such suggestions 
as seemed necessary. 

Dr. Prentice found the troops in liis district mncli scat- 
tered, difficult of access, and in constant motion. Yet lie 
succeeded, by persistent effort, in reacliing and inspecting 
every regiment and every hospital within the area assigned 
to him. The labors of these gentlemen were of the greatest 
value to the Army of the Cumberland, as by their efforts 
the attention of both officers and men was for the first time 
directed to subjects having an important bearing upon their 
]i(\Tltli rnid comfoi't, and the lessons then learned were never 
forgv)tten. A thorough reform was instituted in matters of 
camp police, cleanliness of persons and quarters, in the 
j)reparati()n of food, and, in many instances, in the habits 
rnul nianneis of the soldiers. Captain Turner, Adjutant on 
1 lie stnff of GeuiM-al Johnson, says : "Tlie visits of Dr. Read 
were of the ui-cntcst valine to our brigade. I accompanied 
liini for three (hiys in his I'ounds of inspection, and can 
Icslify to the Liood etlects which followed. A complete 
i<'foiiii took place both in llie conditicm of the camps and 
the ;i i)i)c;i iMHce of the men themselves." 



EEYIEW OF THE YEAR. 25 

Most of tlie commanding officers entered into the work 
with earnestness and zeal, and a pleasant emulation 
sprang up in regard to the police of the camps, the food 
and habits of the men, and the condition of their quarters, 
which added greatly to the comfort and self-respect of the 
soldiers. 

One of the most thorough and enlightened of the officers 
whose commands were visited hj Dr. Read, was General 0. 
M. Mitchell, who did not rest until the camps of his men 
were not only quite orderly and wholesome, but as tasteful 
and attractive in appearance as circumstances would permit 
them to be made. 

The following review of the condition of the camps and 
hospitals at the close of 1861, is taken from my report of 
December 1st of that year : 

To give a resume of the condition and wants of the troops in the 
YaUey of the Mississippi, and the duty done and to be done by the 
Sanitary Commission, we have to congratulate ourselves, first, upon 
the marked amelioration of the sanitary condition of both camps 
and hospitals since my last report; second, on the general high 
character of the medical officers having the care of the troops, 
most of them having passed a searching examination by competent 
Boards appointed by the Governors of the States in which the 
regiments were recruited ; third, upon the uniformly friendly rela- 
tions and hearty co-operation existing between the medical and 
military officers of the different departments with the Sanitary 
Commission and its agents, with a general high appreciation of the 
importance of its aims, and approval of its methods ; fourth, on the 
active and efficient co-operation of a large number of Associate 
Members of the Commission, who have formed Branch Commis- 
sions in the principal cities, which, by their earnest efforts and their 
moral influence, are affording most important aid in our work; 
fifth, upon the organization of a large number of Auxiliary Ladies' 
Soldiers' Aid Societies — busily engaged in the preparation of hos- 
pital stores — whose bounty so liberally bestowed has alleviated 
much suffering, saved many lives, and enabled us to accomplish 



26 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN" DEPARTMENT. 

good which it would have been impossible to effect without their 
aid ; sixtli, on the liberality of the managers of railroad and steam- 
boat lines and express companies, who have, by the transportation 
of stores free, or at diminished rates, greatly added to our means of 
usefulness. 

On the other hand, we have to deplore the continued operation 
of avoidable causes of suffering and disease which call for our 
warmest sympathy and most earnest efforts, and which will, in the 
future, task our energies to the utmost, and exhaust all our resour- 
ces in their removal. 

While the present percentage of sickness and mortality con- 
tinues among our volunteers, we, as a people, stand convicted of 
inhumanity, and bad economy, in a wastefulness of the doubly vital 
element in the present war, human life. We can never consistently 
suspend our labors till this charge may be truthfully denied. 



CHAPTEK II. 



ZEVIKinSTTS OIF 1862 



THE SPEING CAMPAIGN". 

The organization of my Department, whicli has been 
described, continued without important change during the 
winter of 1861-2, or until the taking of Fort Donelson, in 
February, opened the spring campaign. In this interval 
the only event of importance was the battle of Mill Spring, 
on the 19th of January, in which Zollicoifer was killed 
and a victory gained which, though soon overshadowed 
by greater triumphs, filled the country with joy. At the 
request of Dr. Murray, Drs. Read and Prentice took part 
in the care of the wounded from this engagement; with 
much difficulty penetrating to the localities where they 
were collected, and carrying stores by which their con- 
dition was greatly ameliorated. By their eff'orts on this 
occasion they not only commended themselves to Dr. 
Murray's favor, but received public expression of his 
gratitude for the aid they had rendered him. 

Through the influence of Dr. Read, early in February, 
1862, a Soldiers' Home was established at Louisville by the 
Kentucky Branch Commission, and began the career of use- 
fulness, which made it, through all the years of its continu- 
ance, a comfort and a blessing to hundreds of thousands of 
our soldiers. 

Soon after — in March — a Soldiers' Home was opened 
at Cairo by Dr. J. H. Douglas and the Chicago Branch 
Commission. These were the first, and among the most 



28 SAXITAEY COMMISSIO^^ — WESTERN DEPAETMEKT. 

important of tlie series of Soldiers' Homes established by 
tlie Sanitary Commission at the West. 

On the 16th of February Fort Donelson was captured, 
vrith thirteen thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine 
prisoners, and a victory gained which not only thrilled the 
entire country with joyful excitement, but proved the 
preciu'sor of advantages to our arms of still greater mag- 
nitude. During the three days' lighting which preceded- 
the capture of the fort, one thousand seven hundred and 
thirty-live of our men were wounded. These, with one 
thousand and seven wounded Confederates, were left on 
our hands to be cared for. Knowing that little or nothing 
existed at that point which could be converted to the use 
of the wounded, and that the provision made for their 
care by the medical authorities must necessarily be inade- 
quate, measures were promptly taken by the represent- 
atives of the Sanitary Commission in different localities for 
their relief. At Cincinnati a steamer was chartered, fitted 
wp as a hospital boat, loaded with a cargo of stores, manned 
with surgeons and nurses, and dispatched to the scene of 
suffering, a few hours after the news of the battle was 
received. Being at Louisville at the time, I joined the Cin- 
cinnati delegation, and have described the incidents of the 
trip in Document ]S"o. 42 of the Commission's Series. 

I found on the steamer some of the most eminent sur- 
geons and higlily respected citizens of Cincinnati, a w^arm- 
hearted band of Chi'istian men, all eager to do som.ething 
towai-d i('li«'viiig tlie suffering known to exist among the 
pool- fallows wlio liad gained for us so great a victory at 
sucli a cost. From the liigh character of these men, and 
the admirabh* sx)irit which animated them, as well as from 
all tlM' circumstances attending the fitting (mt of the expe- 
dition. I could not but iranid it as one of the most delight- 
ful ofidl the innny ex jiihit ions of the ])atriotism and refined 



FOKT DOKELSON". 29 

humanity which this war has called out, and as a most 
gratifying proof of the vigor and value of our organization, 
now spread over all the loyal States. 

The history of the expedition up to the time when I 
joined it, is no less interesting and suggestive than that in 
which I bore part. It was thus repeated to me : 

' ' Before hearing of the surrender of Fort Donelson, but 
knowing that a desperate conflict was impending there, the 
Secretary called a meeting of the Cincinnati Branch Commis- 
sion for nine o' clock on Monday morning. At this meeting 
a committee of gentlemen was appointed who were author- 
ized to charter a steamer, load it with hospital stores, and 
engage as many surgeons and nurses as they might think 
proper. While the committee was engaged in selecting 
these from the hundreds who tendered their services, the 
news came that the fort was taken. The city was at once in 
a blaze of enthusiasm. The citizens, knowing that the 
Commission was about sending a steamer to the relief of 
the wounded, vied with each other in helping on the enter- 
prise. The members of the Commission were accosted in 
the streets, or called into places of business, and checks for 
twenty-five or fifty dollars thrust into their hands by men 
from whom much smaller donations would have been 
regarded as highly liberal. In two hours, almost without 
solicitation, three thousand dollars were collected and paid 
into the treasury, to defray the expenses of the expedition. 
Had more been required, it would have been as freely 
given. 

"From the fact that all the steamers at Cincinnati 
had been pressed into the service of the Grovernment for 
the transport of troops, it was only after many difficulties 
and delays that a proper one was found, and the consent 
of General Buell to its use obtained by telegraph from 
Louisville. 



30 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

''At live o'clock in the afternoon the steamer was 
secured, and at midnight she started on her way.*' 

Our voyage down the Oliio and up the Cumberland 
was A\'ithont incident, but in many respects most interesting. 
Onr company, composed of men of intelligence and cultiva- 
tion, harmonized by their humane and patriotic mission, 
furnished the elements of pleasant social intercourse, in 
which the hours passed rapidly away ; and at evening the 
circle of earnest worshipers who gathered in the cabin to 
listen to the reading of the Scriptures, and to join in prayer 
for the wounded and dying on the battle field, formed a 
scene strangely new to the traveler on our Western waters, 
and one that ^ill long linger in the memories of those 
present. 

During the trip our whole force was classified into squads 
of surgeons and nurses, so that our work might be system- 
atically, rapidly and thoroughly done. 

On our arrival at Fort Donelson we found ourselves 
surrounded by all the realities and many of the horrors of 
war. Tlie batteries, the entrenchments, the white tents of 
our victorious araiy which covered the hills for miles 
around, the battle field with its unburied dead, strewn with 
arms, clotliing and accoutrements, everywhere sho^^ing 
traces of th(' death storm by which it had been swept; all 
these, and a tliousand other things tliat told each its story 
in tlie unwritten history of this desperate and all-important 
conHict, were looked upon with a deep and painful interest, 
l^ut we liad not come to gratify mere curiositj', however 
natinal. Tlir womidcd wlio were being brought in on litters 
or ill ain])ulanc('S demanded and received our first thought 
and attention. 

Our steamer was moored alongside of tlie "City of 
Memphis," on wliicli weiv. at this time, two linndred and 
fift}' or three Imndicd of the wounded, wliile a few paces 



THE WOUXDED. 31 

below US lay the "Fanny Bullitt," on wliicli were nearly as 
many more. To both these boats we, with some little diffi- 
culty, obtained access, and were able to make a cursory 
examination of the inmates. 

We found the cabin floors thickly crowded with the 
wounded men, and others were constantly arriving fi'om the 
various places where they had been deposited when taken 
from the field of battle. When received they were laid side 
by side in juxtaposition, part on the floor and part on 
mattresses. Our examination showed that the individual 
condition of the wounded men was deplorable. Some were 
just as they had been left by the fortune of war four days 
before ; their wounds, as yet undressed, smeared with filth 
and blood, and all their wants unsupplied. Others had had 
their wounds dressed one, two or three days before. Others 
still were under the surgeon's hands, receiving such care 
as could be given them by men overburdened by the number 
of their patients, worn out by excessive and long-continued 
labor, without an article of clothing to give to any for a 
change, or an extra blanket, Tsithout bandages or dress- 
ings, with but two ounces of cerate to three hundred men, 
with few medicines and no stimulants, and vvith nothing 
but cornmeal gruel, hard bread and bacon, to dispense 
as food. 

As the condition of the wounded testified, and the frank 
admission of the surgeons proved, here was an earnest 
appeal for all our sympathies, all our efforts, all our stores ; 
the very suffering and destitution, indeed, which we had 
pictured in our minds, and had come so far to relieve. 

On Friday morning, and even during the evening pre- 
vious, the surgeons of the regiments encamped near, hearing 
of our arrival with supplies, began to visit oui' boat, asking 
for medical and hospital stores, of which they reported a 
general and urgent want. It is scarcely necessary to say 



32 SAXITARY COM^^riSSIOJT — WESTERN" DEPARTMEIS"!. 

that they were supplied with a liberal hand, greatly to their 
satisfaction. 

Application had been made to the Medical Director to 
permit seTenty-hve to one hundred wonnded to be transferred 
to the ''Allen Collier," to be cared for by the surgeons of 
our party, and to be transported to Cincinnati, if possible ; 
or, if that was not permitted, to any place on the banks of 
the Ohio which might be specified. On Friday the proposi- 
tion was, with considerable hesitation, accepted, and after 
noon the removal began. 

The eighty-one wounded men who were taken on board 
the "Allen Collier" were sadly in want of immediate 
surgical attendance, wdiicli was thoroughly and systematic- 
ally given them. Each was placed in a clean and comfortable 
bed ; his soiled and bloody clothing removed ; washed with 
warm water throughout, includmg the feet ; new and clean 
underclothing put on, with socks, and, when needed, slip- 
pers were furnished to all. Food, nourishing and palatable, 
and delicacies to which they had long been strangers, were 
supi)lied to them. In short, in all things they were nursed 
and served as though they had been our brothers and 
sons. 

Up to the time of the capture of Fort Donelson the ad- 
vance of our trooj}s southward had been prevented by the 
rebel forces stationed at Bowling Green, Ky., Fort Donel- 
son on tlie Cumberland, Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and 
batteries on tlu^ Mississippi at Columbus. The fall of Forts 
Donelson and ihmvy opened all the South to us, and, since 
it ('\])()S('(1 the iclx'l armies to attack in the rear, compelled 
tlK'iii to beat a rapid retreat to a new base beyond the great 
bend of liie Tennessee. Bowling Green was evaciiated 
duriiifj: tlie siege of Fort Donelson, General Mitchell shelling 
tli«' ciM'iiiy as tliey retreated, and immediately occupying 
the |)lac(;. 



BATTLE OF PITTSBURG LAXDIXG. 33 

On the 23cl of February the Union troops, under General 
IS'elson, entered Xashville, and Greneral Mitchell pushed on 
and occupied Huntsville, while, on the 1st of March, Admi- 
ral Foote's gunboats went up the Tennessee as far as Pitts- 
burg Landing. General Grant soon followed -with his 
armr, and establishing himself on the south side of the 
river at this point, remained there for a month previous 
to the battle of Shiloli, unfortunately ^^ithout an effort to 
fortify his position. 

The agents of the Sanitary Commission, Drs. Read and 
Prentice, followed our army into Xashville. As this was 
evidently to be an important military and hospital center, 
large shix3ments of stores were made thither from the 
Branch Commissions at Cincinnati and Cleveland. In the 
latter part of March I went to XashviLle with a competent 
storekeeper, secured fine rooms, opened a distributing 
depot, offices, etc., and established an Agency, which 
became one of the most important of all Sanitary Commis- 
sion stations, east or west. A depot was also opened at 
Bowling Green, and for many months this continued to be 
a source of supplementary supply to a number of hospitals 
located in that vicinity, which at one time contained two 
thousand five hundred inhabitants. 

BATTLE OF PITTSBURG LAXDIXG OR SHILOH. 

The battle of Shiloh began on the morning of the 6th of 
April, terminating on the 7th, when the army of General 
Grant was reinforced by the troops of General Buell, in an 
overwhelming defeat to the Confederates under Johnston 
and Beauregard. As soon as we received at ISTashville, by 
telegraph, news of the battle of Shiloh, I started for that 
point by steamer, taking with me Dr. Prentice and a number 
of assistants, including several surgeons, with a good supply 
of stores. 



34 SAXITART COMMISSION — WESTERX DEPAETMEXT. 

Tlie following extracts from one of my letters, written at 
Sliiloli to tlie General Secretary, will give some idea of tlie 
"situation'' on our arrival: 

''On our way np the Tennessee we met tliree transports 
descending, loaded ^^itli wounded, destined for the hospi- 
tals at Paducah and Mound City. Arriving at Savannah 
Saturday night, we found nearly two thousand sick and 
wounded, crowded into churches, dwelling-houses, and 
structures of all kinds, filling to repletion every place at 
all fitted to hold them. The suffermg and destitution here 
were extreme. The number of surgeons and nurses Avas 
entirely inadequate, and the resources of the Medical 
Department in the way of bedding, clothing, dressings and 
diet, so exceedingly meager, that it is scarcely too much to 
say that all things necessary to the proper care of this 
great mass of suffering humanity were wholly wanting. 

"Depending upon the large stock of stores forwarded to 
Pittsburg before the fight, we had little to supply the press- 
ing wants of the wounded at Savannah. We therefore 
hastened forward on Sunday morning to ]iead-quarters at 
Pittsburg Landing. The scene that here met our eyes was 
one to which no description, though it exhausted all the 
resources of language, could do anything like justice. 

"For the space of a mile or more, the bank of the river 
was lined \vith steamers, closely packed together, loaded 
with troops, stores and munitions of war. Each of these 
steamers was discharging its caigo, living or inanimate, 
upon the steep and muddy bank. Soldiers, forage, pro- 
\'isions, clothing, artillery, army wagons and ambulances — 
the reinforcements and supplies of the great army which 
covered the hills for miles ai-ound — poured on to the shore 
in a noisy, turbulent, cliaotic Hood. 

"To one standing on ^\\r bluff overlooking tlie landing, 
the scen<' below seemed one of w ild and lio])eless confusion. 



THE HOSPITAL BOATS. 35 

Soldiers liurmng to and fro in a busy, interweaving crowd; 
tlie countless tlirong of army wagons floundering tlirougli 
tlie mud, now interlocking, now upsetting with tlieir loads ; 
the wounded, borne on ambulances or on litters to tlie 
boats ; the dead, lying stitf and stark on the wet ground, 
overrun with almost contemptuous inditference by the 
living ; the busy squads of grave-diggers rapidly consign- 
ing the corpses to the shallow trenches — all this formed a 
picture new, horrible, and never to be forgotten by the 
many who here, for the first time, were brought face to 
face T^ith the dreadful realities of the war in which we are 
engaged." 

THE HOSPITAL BOATS. 

Previous to our arrival and in company with us, there 
had come to the relief of the wounded in the battle of Pitts- 
burg, quite a fleet of hospital boats, sent by the considerate 
humanity of our warm-hearted and patriotic people, and 
embodying the spirit of our beneficent and wide-spread 
organization. 

These, each marked with its yellow flag, lav moored 
among the steamers which lined the shore. Thej had come 
fi'eighted with stores, surgeons and nurses, and afforded 
commodious and comfortable quarters to thousands who, 
but for them, must have endured incalculable sufiering, 
and in many cases death itself. 

The preparation made by the Government for the engage- 
ment which had been expected to take place a few days 
later, was, for some reason, far from adequate. Though aid 
tendered by the Cincinnati Branch had been declined by 
General Halleck, at that very time large requisitions were 
made on the Branch Commissions of Cincinnati and Chicago 
by the Medical Purveyor of General Grant's division. In 
answer to these requisitions, and spontaneously, a large 



36 SAXITAET COMMISSION — T^'ESTERX DEPAKTMEXT. 

quantity of liospital stores was sent up tlie Tennessee from 
Chicago, Cincinnati and Cleveland, and vet nothing like a 
sufficient stock was in tlie hands of the Medical Purvej-^or 
to meet the emergency when it arrived. This may be in 
part accounted for b}' the fact that on Sunday a portion of 
the supplies of our army fell into the hands of the enemy, 
but there is still reason to believe that the medical or mili- 
tary authorities failed to act with the promptness, fore- 
thought and energy which the circumstances required. 
Much had been done, however, in anticipation of this con- 
flict, which was in the highest degree ^^ise and commend- 
able. The Government officers had chartered four large 
steamers, which had been fitted up by the Western Sanitary 
Commission, and were of incalculable benefit when the fight 
took place. 

Immediately on hearing of the battle, the Chicago Branch 
Commission, T\itli its accustomed promptness, dispatched a 
special train to Cairo, taking a large quantity of supplies, 
and a corps of surgeons and nurses, all under the care of 
the Rev. Dr. Patton and Dr. Isham. These reached the 
scene of action on the ''Louisiana'' — a Government hos- 
pital boat — on Frida}^ evening. The good which they 
accomplished by their services and much needed stores can 
hardly be overestimated ; indeed, the arrival of this steamer 
may be regarded as the sunrise of a glorious day, Avliich 
soon dissij)ated tlie darkness, till then brooding over the 
battle field. Dr. Simmons, Medical Director of General 
Halleck's army. Dr. Brinton, his efficient aid, and Dr. 
Douglas, of our Commission, arrived witli tlie Chicago dele- 
gation on the "Louisiana," and as all act(^d in harmony 
and with enthusiasm, their efibrts soon gav(^ a new phase to 
medical affairs at Pitts1)ui'g Landing. 

The Cinciiiiinti P)iaii('li Commission was also most credit- 
abl\- icjU'esented. Two iiist-class steamers, the "Tycoon" 



A GEXEEOUS RIVAL RY. 37 

and "Moiiarcli," were fitted out as liospital boats by tlie 
Commission, furnislied with every comfort and even luxury 
for tlie wounded, and manned by a large and efficient corps 
of surgeons and nurses. These boats Avere under the care, 
respectively, of Drs. Mendenliall and Comegys. After dis- 
pensing with liberal hand of their stores to the sufferers at 
the Landing, they both retuimed, carrying loads of wounded, 
all thoroughly and tenderly cared for, to the hospitals on 
the Ohio. 

A large number of boats which arrived were sent by 
the efficient Branches of our Commission throughout the 
Western States, and nearh^ all were fitted out from our 
stores, and were accompanied by our Associate Members. 

At this time the limited resources of the central treasiuy 
of the Sanitary Commission did not enable me to follow the 
only line of policy which would have averted the inconven- 
iences and evils experienced in the distribution of supplies 
and the removal of the sick and wounded, and would have 
given system, harmony and unity to the efforts being made 
at the AYest in supplementary aid to the soldiers of our 
armies. A splendid array of workers was co-operating with 
us in the home field. Xearly the whole "West was occupied 
by a great and efficient system of production represented 
by our Branches, each the center and depot of supplies for 
Aid Societies planted and in vigorous growth in almost 
every town and hamlet. Materials for distribution were 
already produced in abundance, but our machinery was not 
adequate to dispose of them. We had not then occupied 
the field with so large and well trained a corps of agents 
that all necessarj^ work coidd be done by them. The con- 
tributions of the West were mainly in kind, and the mem- 
bers of our Branch Commissions naturally felt it a part of 
their duty, in times of emergenc}', to go themselves to the 
field of battle, carrying and distributing the supplies of 



38 SAXITART COMMISSIOX — AVESTERX DEPARTME^S^T. 

wliicli they liad such abnndance, rather than turn over all 
their stores, and delegate the labor and responsibility of 
their distribution to the small number of field agents of an 
organization of which they were a part, and a part which, 
in their judgment, must perform locally the work of the 
whole. Municipal rivalry also came in as an element, if not 
of discord, at least of independence, and because the work 
was a great and noble one, each of the States and important 
cities of the AVest desired to perform a creditable part of it. 
Much confusion was, however, a natural consequence of 
this want of concert of action. While each of the States, 
cities and Branches of the Sanitar}^ Commission, represented 
by independent delegations at Shiloh, were actuated by the 
purest and most generous impulses, and accomplislied great 
good, yet theu' lack of experience, system and harmonious 
action was productive of waste of materials and effort, and 
brought much discredit on the whole cause of supplement- 
ary relief. To remedy in some degree these evils, after the 
greater part of the wounded of the Shiloli battle had been 
provided for and a depot of supplies established at Pittsburg 
Landing, I telegraphed to Xew York, asking authority to 
charter a steamer which should express the catholic spirit 
of our Commission by disregarding all State lines or local 
interests, and be managed in full harmony with the necessi- 
ties of military discipline. Permission was granted at once. 
The ''Lancaster'' was chartered and made the trip whicli is 
described in the chapter on Hospital Transports. Sucli was 
the success of that and the next trip of the "Lancaster" 
that I received a letter of thanks from the Medical Director 
of the District of the Ohio, of wliicli a copy is herewith 
given : 



DR. MURRAY'S LETTER. 39 

Head-Quarters District of the Ohio, 

Camp near Corinth, May 8, 1862. 
Dr. J. S. Xeavberrt, 

Secretary U. S. Saniiary Commis.non, Western Department: 

Mt Dear Sir — It gives me a great deal of pleasure to state to you 
that, from the first commencement of my service in this Department, the 
operations of the United States Sanitary Commission under your direction 
have been conducted to my entire satisfaction. The Inspectors. Drs. Prentice 
and Eead. have atteuded faith fullj' and efficiently to their duties. Without 
any assumption of authoritj' or seeking personal eclat and credit, they have 
done much good by exciting a spirit of emulation among the regiments in 
matters of camp police and general sanitary conditions. They have through 
the worst weather and worst roads traveled through the whole Department 
of the Ohio, to sight out the points where supplies were needed, and have 
promptly fm-nished them. My attention has been particularly directed to 
the working of the United States Sanitary Commission proper, compared 
with that of local Sanitary Commissions in difterent cities in the West. In 
every case where operations have been conducted by the United States 
Commission, there has been order, good management, and apparently but 
one object in view, that of aiding in providing for the comfort and care of 
the sick and wounded in an unostentatious manner, and without seeking 
notoriety and popular applause. This was particularly shown after the 
battle of Pittsburg Landing. The boats from States and cities, with some 
creditable exceptions, were eager to take wounded men only, and those from 
their own State. The boat under the control of the United States Commis- 
sion was ready to take those of all classes which were most uncomfortable 
on shore ; sick or wounded. Federal or Confederate, all were received with 
equal readiness and cared for alike. I am ready to give my testimony to 
the great usefulness of the Sanitary Commission. Under the old organiza- 
tion of the Medical Corps of the army it was indeed indispensable, and 
without it all the wants and comforts for sick and wounded could not have 
been met. At the same time I must frankly say I consider it a great injus- 
tice to the Medical Corps of the army that, at the commencement of the 
present troubles, steps were not taken to place sufficient power, funds and 
facilities at the disposal of the medical officers to enable them to provide for 
all the wants of the sick and wounded under all circumstances that could 
arise. This, mj' dear sir, is merely added to my thanks to you, in justice to 
the corps of which I am a member. I have for the officers of the U. S. Sani- 
tary Commission no feeling but that of gratitude for their untiring efforts and 
energy and the great benefit they have been to the sick and wounded. It is 
of the want of proper action at the beginning by the proper authorities that 
I complain. 

With feelings of great respect for j'ou, 

I am truly yours, 

R. Murray, Siu-geon U. S. A., 
Medical Director District of the Ohio. 



40 SAITITART COMMISSIOlSr — WESTERN DEPARTMEKT. 

The pestilential atmospliere of tlie conntiy about Shiloli 
was producing an amount of sickness almost without 
parallel in the history of the w^ar, and since the sick 
required to be removed to a healthier locality before 
recovery could take place, there seemed to be abundant 
w^ork yet for a hospital steamer to do. As the expense 
would be heavy and our purse was light, I went to Wash- 
ington w^itli Dr. Murray' s letter, procured the indorsement 
of the Surgeon General to my application for a steamer, and 
thus obtained from the Quartermaster General an order 
which placed at my disposal a boat that continued in the 
service of the Sanitary Commission as long as the necessity 
for its employment existed. 

Dr. Douglas remained some time at Pittsburg Landing, 
supervising the w ork done at that point, wdiile Drs. Warri- 
ner and Read, with a number of assistants, were busily 
employed to July 1st in meeting the unprecedented w^ants 
of the army before Corinth. 

In the progress of events it became necessary to establish 
a depot at Hamburgh, six miles above Pittsburg Landing. 
This w^as placed in charge of Mr. M. C. Pead, wdio then first 
entered the service of the Commission, to the success of 
wdiich he afterward contributed so much. Mr. Robert T. 
Tliorne, subsequently Assistant Secretary of the Depart- 
ment, also made his entree into our ranks during this 
campaign. Having come to Savannah on a mission of 
mercy from a benevolent association in Brooklyn, IST. Y., 
he proved himself so earnest and efficient in the care of 
the sick and wounded congregated there, that, when the 
supi)lies he brought w^ere exhausted, I w^as glad to admit 
him into our corps. In our service he took typhoid fever, 
from wliich lie l)arely escaped with liis ]\ih. It sliould also 
be SMJd of nil our n gents, that the}^ ])(M'form(^d their duties 
Hiii-iiiu' tlic Coriulli en in i khuii imder circumstances of great 



A GOOD WORK WELL DOXE. 41 

discomfort and danger. Tliey were all in succession 
prostrated by disease, and some of them fell victims to 
their faithfulness. I w^as myself so saturated by camp 
poisons that I did not fully regain my health for more than 
a year, and the Messrs. Read haye not yet recovered fi'om 
the effects of theii' terrible exposure at Hamburgh. 

The Inspectors of the Sanitary Commission, Drs. Douglas, 
Warriner, Read and Prentice, were constantly traversing 
the camps and hospitals of the army before Corinth, and 
exerting such influence as they could command for the 
improvement of theu^ condition in all respects. The medical 
corps was here represented by some of the best surgeons in 
the service, among whom should be mentioned with special 
commendation. Dr. Robert Murray, Drs. Meylert, Gold- 
smith, Yarian, Gay, Pierce and Bryant, who, with many 
others, labored with indefatigable industry and energy for 
the amelioration of the condition of those under their 
charge, and who were ready to co-operate heartily with any 
intelligent and sincere efibrt in the same du^ection. 

In the preceding pages I have given a hasty sketch of 
the efforts made, to a certain date, by the Branches of the 
Sanitary Commission and others, in the removal of the 
sick and wounded from the vicinity of Pittsburg Landing. 
These efl'orts continued as long as there was need of them, 
and the work was on the whole well done. I had been on 
the Peninsula during McClellan s campaign before Rich- 
mond, and went up, as one of the surgeons, ^vith a load of 
sick from AYhite House to Xew York, and can testify that 
the removal of the sick and wounded was effected on the 
Western rivers, during the campaign of 1862, with far less 
danger and discomfort to them than at the East — mainly 
for the reason that the open, airy, river steamers made 
better impromptu hospital transports than the deeper and 
closer sea-going or river boats used for the same purpose 



■42 SAXITART COMMISSION — WESTEKIT DEPART3IEi;rT. 

at tlie East. Tlie cabins of tlie Western steamers extend 
from bow to stern, and maj be opened at each end, so that 
when the boat is in motion a constant current of fresh air 
passes tlirough them. The same is true of the guards 
and boiler decks ; and, when fully opened, the two decks 
form wards which, in convenience and ventilation,'^ are not 
excelled by those of any model hospital. In addition to 
this, their equipment was not only ample, but even luxu- 
rious, and their personnel abundant and of excellent 
quality, both as regards surgeons and nurses. 

Much criticism has been passed upon the great popular 
movement which I have sketched, by officers holding im- 
portant commands, who only felt the temporary numerical 
loss of the seven thousand of their men removed ; but it is 
not too much to say that the effort saved the army and the 
country a great number of lives ; and if all the sick of the 
army before Corinth had been taken from the deadly 
atmosphere that enveloped camps and hospitals, there 
would have been more brave men in our ranks in subse- 
quent battles ; more living, loving fathers and husbands in 
happy homes at the North ; fewer mounds in the soldiers' 
cemeteries, and fewer pensions paid to widows and orphans. 

JN'o medical officer, of all who were in the Corinth 
campaign, will subscribe to the criticism of the military 
commanders, and none but tliose actuated by the purely 
military animus will deny that the removals from Shiloh 
to hospitals in the purer air of the North was a m-ost wise 
and beneticent measure. The work was hurriedly, and, in 



* Note. —The value of fresh air on these steamers is well illustrated by the incidents 
mentioned in one of the Reportrj of M. C. Read. On a boat chartered by the Governor of 
Ohio, which was returning from Pittsburg Landing, freighted with sick, canvas was stretched 
around the front of the boat, so as to exclude the air from those whom it was supposed 
would be injured by it. Many deaths took place, when, at his request, the awnings were 
removed, and a magical change for the better was immediately noticed in the condition of 
all— evidently a consequence of the free admission of fresh air. 



A CHAXGE OF BASE. 43 

some instances, nnsystematically done. The State boats 
came for "their own sick" — sometimes would take no 
others — and boats dis23atched from certain cities only took 
willingly such as could be transported to those cities for 
treatment. This was, of course, all wrong, and would not 
have been permitted if proper supervision of the business 
had been exercised by those in authority; yet these evils 
were trilling compared to the good accomplished. Twenty 
loads of sick were removed on the steamers sent by the 
Sanitary Commission and its Branches, six of which were 
taken by the "Lancaster." It is certain that none of the 
latter w^ere received except by order of the Medical Dkector; 
that no discrimination was made among those offered ; and 
that, in receiving, transporting and delivering those under 
our charge, all military regulations were complied Tvi.th. 

occupatio:n" of wester:n^ kextucky axd 
westten:n^essee. 

With the evacuation of Corinth, May 30th, our armies 
ceased to have a single objective point, and spread with a 
wide front, from Huntsville and Decatur, Ala., on the east, 
to Jackson, Tenn. , on the west. The Memphis and Charles- 
ton Kailroad being broken, the Mobile and Ohio Eailroad 
was taken possession of and made the medium of communi- 
cation with the garrison along its line at Corinth, Jackson, 
etc.; and Columbus, Ky., was chosen as a new base of 
supplies. Pittsburg Landing having thus lost its import- 
ance, our corps of agents stationed there took the barge 
which became our storeship after the departure of the 
"Polar Star"^ — our storeship at Pittsburg Landing — and 
had it towed around to Columbus. On the 15th of July 
Dr. Warriner established his head-quarters there, with Mr. 
H. Tone as liis chief assistant, and immediately planted 
local depots at Jackson, Bolivar and Corinth. 



44 SAl^ITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Til ere was constant skirmishing along tliis line dnring 
tlie summer and antiimn, and, as tlie conntiy was very 
insalubrious, the number of sick and w^ounded was great, 
and the amount of w^ork done by our agents proportion- 
ally important. On the 19th and 20th of September the 
battle of luka took place ; on the 3d and 4th of October the 
battle of Corinth ; and on the 5th the battle of the Hatchie. 
About this time Holly Springs was made an important 
military depot, and Dr. Warriner established an Agency of 
the Commission at that point. He was there taken pris- 
oner, at the time of the disgraceful surrender of the place 
by Colonel Murphy, but w^as immediately released by the 
rebel leader. The more important events of the continua- 
tion of the Corinth campaign, w^ith the work of the Sani- 
tary Commission connected therewith, are described in the 
following Rex)ort of Dr. Warriner : 

CoLirMBUS, Ky., January 8, 1863. 
Dr. J. 8. IS^EWBEREY : 

My Dear Sir — My report for the past montli will be unavoida- 
bly meager, as the operations of the Commission in this Department 
have been extensively interrupted by the raids of the enemy upon 
lines of communication, and I had the misfortune to be myself cut 
off for three weeks from my chief source of supplies and my most 
important field of labor. 

General Grant's forces having already moved down the line of 
the Mississippi Central Kailroad to Holly Springs and beyond, I 
started early in December to establish a depot of Sanitary supplies 
at some point on that line which should seem most eligible and 
most accessible to the bulk of the army. 

With little hesitation I selected Holly Springs, Miss. The Med- 
ical Director of General Grant's army had his head-quarters there 
at the time, and was very busy preparing hospital accommodations 
for some fifteen hundred or two thousand patients. He had selected 
as his main building a large structure l)uilt by the enemy, since the 
commencement of the war, for an armory. It was in many respects 
adinii-ably ada])l"('(l foi- hospital uses. High ceilings, ventilation 



EEPORT OF DE. WAERIXER. 45 

readily attainable, rooms very large, sufficiently nnmerons to admit 
of the requisite classification of patients, and so of a more semce- 
able distribution of assistants. I had large cisteros filled with 
wholesome water, and all things conspired to render this one of the 
most attractiye hospital sites hitherto reached inland from the 
Mississippi river. 

I should add that Holly Springs itself, standing on a very con- 
siderable elevation, and with a sandy soil, is regarded as one of the 
healthiest locations in the State. 

An adjoining building was filled with a large stock of medical 
stores and placed in charge of Dr. Grinsted, the energetic Sub-Pur- 
veyor of the Department, who had rendered such invaluable services 
months before at Pittsburg Landing and Corinth. 

On the 19th of December the preparations for the reception of 
patients at this hospital were so nearly completed that the surgeon 
in charge had resolved to transfer to it the following day all the sick 
then in town — numbering perhaps five hundred. All manner of 
hospital supplies that are practicable outside a metropolis, such as 
furniture, medical and commissary stores, were present in almost 
profuse abundance in the hospital and Purveyor's building. 

Only of supplies more specifically sanitary was there any defi- 
ciency, and these I had already ordered by telegraph some days 
before, and was anticipating their arrival on the evening of the 
19th. I am happy to add, however, that they did not arrive accord- 
ing to expectation. 

On the morning of the 20th, at early dawn, a force of the 
enemy's cavalry, under General Van Dorn, twenty-five hundred 
strong, entered the town with scarcely a shadow of resistance, and 
held mad riot therein the liveloug day. 

That quartermaster's, commissary and ordnance stores should be 
removed or destroyed was to be expected. We hoped, however, that 
the hospital and its equipments would be spared. "Such was not 
the case. Hospital and Purvej'or's offices were burned to the 
ground. 

All Government stores, beyond what could be taken away by the 
mounted assailants, were destroyed, with the exception of a rela- 
tively small quantity of provisions which the inhabitants of the 
town had stolen during the day's tumult and secreted in their 
dwellings: 



46 SAXITART COMMISSIOi^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

The sick on hand at the time had heeu accommodated after a 
fashion in a moderate-sized hotel building on the public square. 
Stores and hospital furniture had been but sparingly distributed 
among them, for the reason that they were So soon to be removed 
to a place of abundance. Only the yery sick were adequately fur- 
nished. This arrangement obyiously increased facilities of removal 
and seemed reasonable enough. The event proved it to be signally 
unfortunate. 

No attempt was made, that I am aware of, to fire any building 
containing sick. To increase the discomfort of the poor fellows in 
the hotel on that day, the building containing a very heavy stock 
of ammunition on the adjacent side of the public square, was set 
on fire about three o'clock in the afternoon. Fragments of explod- 
ing shells began to speedily fill the neighborhood with danger. The 
hospital was thoroughly exposed. J^o particular damage was done 
to it, however, and no person was injured until about four o'clock 
in the afternoon. At that time occurred a general and tremendous 
explosion of the remaining ammunition, completely demolishing 
what was left of the burnins: buildino- and all the other structures 
in the block. Great numbers of other buildings were irreparably 
damaged, and the devoted hospital suffered as much as any. All 
the windoAvs in the front were blown in, and the fragments strewn 
over our sick. Happily no one was seriously injured by the missiles. 
I could not learn that any of the patients were made permanently 
worse by the excitement through which they passed. 

Let me recur now for a moment to my own experiences on that 
day. My store-room was on the public square, exactly opposite the 
hotel hospital. In common with others I was compelled to accept 
an unseasonable, early visit from the flushed and triumphant enemy. 
On oj^ening my door in response to their somewhat clamorous call- 
ing, my eye met at a glance the green scarf of a surgeon. The 
wearer proved to be Van Dorn's Medical Director. 1 beckoned to 
him, and he responded promptly and courteously. His manner was 
at once dignified and friendly. I explained to him my position and 
function, and showed him the stores I had on hand. He professed 
to be familiar with the purposes and operations of the United 
States Sanitary Commission, and expressed a frank and hearty com- 
mendation of the same. He assured me that neither myself nor my 
stores should be molested. I thanked him and he rode away. I 



EEPORT, COXTIXUED. 47 

remained standing in the door a few moments, and was presently 
accosted by an officer, whose name and rank I did not learn. In 
answer to his question, I repeated what I had just said to the sur- 
geon. He also assured me that neither myself nor my stores could 
be properly seized. From that time forward I had nothing to 
apprehend except from riotous soldiers, who knew little and cared 
less about the usages of civilized warfare. 

I was yisited at intervals by squads of privates during the rest 
of the day up to the time the explosion of the magazines commenced, 
but not again by any officer. Only one man of them all treated me 
otherwise than civilly. That one, already intoxicated, insisted on 
helping himself to the only liquors I had in sight — viz., a few bottles 
of currant wine. He took three bottles. This is the sum total of 
my losses on that day. T had, to be sure, but few stores on hand, 
but they proved of exceeding value subsequently. 

These were turned over at once to Dr. Weitz, of the hospital. 
Simultaneously with this success of the enemy, as you have 
already learned, successful attacks were made along the line of the 
Mobile and Ohio Eailroad between Jackson, Tenn., and ColumJDus, 
Ky., by another force. Several garrisons were captured, and a 
number of miles of the road destroyed. The Memphis and Charles- 
ton Eailroad, west of Lagrange, having been closed for months. 
General Grant's communications with his base were etfectually cut 
off. His head-quarters at the time were at Oxford, Miss., twenty- 
seven miles south of Holly Springs, and the bulk of his army was 
massed in the vicinity. He speedily fell back from that position, 
leaving no troops further south than Abbieville, twelve miles 
from Holly Springs. From five hundred to six hundred sick had 
accumulated in the general hospital at Oxford. These were all 
brought to Holly Springs, so that about the middle of the week 
succeeding the raid, some twelve hundred sick had been massed at 
the latter place. Temporary provision was made for their accommo- 
dation, by taking possession at once of six of the most spaciotis, 
elegant and comfortable mansions in the town — a town, by the 
way, which abounds in such buildings. 

Meanwhile, foraging parties around and numerically strong, 
were scouring the surrounding cotmtry. Others were searching the 
town. The two explorations combined resulted in procuring ade- 
quate commissary supplies to bridge the portentous emergency quite 



48 SAXITAET COMMISSION — T\'ESTEKX DEPARTMEXT. 

handsomely. As soon as practicable General Grant sent a train of 
one hnndred wagons, nnder the escort of an entire division of troops, 
to Memphis for snpplies, taking with them a full cargo of the sick 
who were able to bear the jonrnev. About fonr hnndred were thus 
disposed of. In the meantime the utmost energy was thrown into 
the work of opening the railroad to Memphis. This work in a 
little more than two weeks from the time of the raid was completed. 
A majority of the remaining sick were at once shipped to Memphis, 
leaving at Holly Springs less- than two hundred. These are now 
comfortably situated and adequately cared for. At the suggestion 
of General Grant I retain my storeroom at Holly Springs, though 
the General assured me that the sick now there in general hospital 
will be removed to other hospitals as soon as practicable. One 
division of troops remained there, having their sick in regimental 
hospitals. * %* ^ H. * ^ ^^4: ^ 

To-day we are loading all the stores upon the Sanitary steamer. 
Her cargo will be completed at Cairo, and she will then proceed 
with all practicable dispatch as far towards Yicksburg as possible. 

H. A. AVaeeixee. 

Hi October. Dr. R. C. Hopkins was detached from the 
"Lancaster," wliicli had been riinni]ig under his super- 
vision, and sent to establish an Agency of the Sanitary 
Commission at Memphis, then General Sherman's head- 
quarters, and rapidly becoming an important military center. 
After three months of service at that point. Dr. Hopkins, 
having greatly overworked himself, was taken sick and 
died at Evansville, on his way home, Januaiy 26, 1863. 
Dr. H. was from Cleveland, O., a man of fine education and 
abilities, and peculiarly refined and gentlemanly in his 
manner. His was the first death which occurred in our 
corpus at the West, and was severely felt, not onl}^ among 
his associates in the Commission, by whom he was greatly 
esteemed, but by a large circle of friends in his place of 
ivsidence. Mrs. Hopkins was with him during most of his 
stay in Memphis, taking an active part in the work of the 
Commission and rendering us important service. She — as 



TTEST YIKGIXIA IX 1862. 49 

well as our Inspector, Dr. Prentice — was witli liim at tlie 
time of Ms death. 

The chief assistant in the depot was Mr. AT. T. Carpen- 
ter. Mrs. Canfield, wife of Colonel Canfield, who died in 
the service, and Mrs. L. P. Harver, widow of the Governor 
of Wisconsin, who was accidentally drowned at Pittsburg 
Landing, were active and efficient co-laborers with iis. 

WEST VIEGIXIA IX 18 62. 

I have already noticed the appointment of Dr. C. D. 
Griswold, Inspector for AY est Virginia, in August. 1861, 
and the opening of a depot of supplies at "Wheeling, in 
charge of D. S. Fracker. Through the efforts of these gen- 
tlemen much was done to supply the wants and improve 
the condition of the hospitals established at Wheeling, and 
along the line of the Baltunore and Ohio Railroad as far 
east as Cumberland, Md. Durmg the autumn the Valley of 
the Kanawha became the principal field of military opera- 
tions in that District, and much of the time of Dr. Griswold 
was spent in ministering to the wants of the camps and 
hospitals located there. In the battle of Gauley Bridge 
General Rosecrans defeated and dispersed the forces of 
Floyd, and ended active operations in the Valley for the 
winter. In the spring of 1862 Dr. Griswold was relieved, 
and Dr. E. Meade, nominated by the Cincinnati Branch 
Commission, was appointed as Inspector for West Virginia. 
Dr. Prentice also, at my request, left his field in Kentucky 
and made a tour of inspection through this District. 

When I was assigned to duty as Secretary of the West- 
ern Department of the Sanitary Commission, that Depart- 
ment was boimded on the east by the Alleghany Mountains, 
but when the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was destroyed 
at Harper s Ferry and eastward, the hospitals at Cumber- 
land, Md. were most readily reached and supplied from 

4 



50 SAXITAEY COMMISSIO^^ — WESTERX DEPART^IEXT. 

tlie AYest. From time to time, therefore, tlie country about 
Cnmbeiiand came into my Department, and agents and 
supplies Avere sent there at different periods during the 
war. The battles fought by Shields and Fremont — at 
Cross Keys and Port Republic — in June, called for sucli 
aid, and Dr. T. G. Cley eland, previously surgeon of the 
41st Ohio Regiment, as Inspector, and Captain L. Barney 
as distributing agent, were sent there TAitli a large supply 
of stores. It was subsequently necessary to do much for 
the Cumberland hospitals. In July Mr. Fracker opened 
a depot there, and continued to supply the Avants of the 
hospitals in that yicinity until communication was re-estab- 
lished with the East. 

At the time of the inyasion of Maryland, previous to the 
battle of Antietam, General Cox, who was in command in 
West Yii*ginia, was ordered eastward, AAith a great part of 
his troops, and little was done in West Virginia , in a mili- 
tary or sanitary way, during their absence. On the 9tli of 
October General Cox returned and resumed command of 
this District. Early in November Dr. Henry Parker was 
appointed Chief Inspector for West Virginia. He con- 
tinued in supervision of our work there throughout the 
year; the depot at Wheeling remaining in charge of Mr. 
Fracker. 

KAXSAS IX 1862. 

As previously stated, the care of all troops west of tlie 
Mississix)pi was at one time assumed b,y the Western Sani- 
tary Commission ; 3^et they were so much occux)ied in the 
good work they performed for the St. Louis hospitals that 
it was thought necessary to keep some representatives of 
the Fnited States Sanitary Commission on duty in that 
field. The St. Louis Commission was, however, so fully 
able to respond to the wants of the troops stationed in 
Missouri tlint it was not dccnKnl advisable to continue our 



KAXSAS IN 1862. 51 

Agency there, and Drs. Douglas and "Warriner were witli- 
di^awn. Tlie Western Sanitary Commission did not estab- 
lish. Agencies west of their own State ; and when ^ ^ bleeding 
Kansas'* began to experience the tender mercies of the 
secessionists, whose wrath had been so long treasnred np 
against her, an amonnt of suffering was inflicted npon her 
people which has been nowhere surpassed in the history of 
the war. Of the scenes of cruelty and blood enacted there, 
the massacre at La^^Tence may be taken as an example. 
Foremost among the philanthropists who devoted tliem- 
selyes to the relief of the snfferers, was Mr. J. E.. Bro^^m, 
half-brother of the "martj^r" whose "soul is marchiug 
on." For some months he, with his wife and daughter, 
spent their whole time in ministering to the wants of citi- 
zens, soldiers, refugees and contrabands. In jS'ovember, 
1862, having exhausted all his available means, Mr. Brown 
appealed to me for assistance. Kno^mig well his peculiar 
qualifications for our work, I at once appointed him an 
agent of the Sanitary Commission, provided means for the 
establishment of a depot of supplies at Leavenworth, 
brought him into relation with our Branches at Chicago 
and Cleveland, and equipped him for his visits of inspec- 
tion and relief to the various military posts within his field 
of labor. From that time to the autumn of 1865 Mr. 
BroT\Ti performed the arduous duties which devolved upon 
him with untu'ing energy, and accom^^lished an amount of 
good work that reflected great credit on the Commission, 
and won the good Avill and good word of numbers of offi- 
cers and civilians who T^itnessed it. 

exlist:^iext of nurses. 

In August, 1862, an order was issued b}^ the AVar 
Department, requiring all able-bodied enlisted men, doing 
hospital duty, to return to tliek regiments, and authorizing 



52 SAKITAKY COMMISSIOl^ — WESTEEIf DEPARTMENT. 

the employment of civilian nurses in tlieir places. In tlie 
hospital centers of the South and West much difficulty 
was experienced by medical officers in obtaining the 
requisite number of civilians to perform this duty, and I 
was requested to co-operate in an effort to secure them. As 
the enlisted nurses had already been largely withdrawn 
under the order to which I have referred, the hospitals at 
Louisville and JN'ashville had become very short-handed, 
and many consequent evils were beginning to be felt. 
Regarding this duty as legitimate, I responded at once, by 
issuing circulars and causing notices of the want to be pub- 
lished in the newspapers of Ohio. We soon had several 
hundred applications from different parts of the country. 
From those so applying about one hundred and fifty were 
engaged and forwarded to Louisville, where they all 
received employment. Most of these were men over forty- 
five years of age, and not liable to do military duty, and, 
I regret to say, many of them died in the service, falling 
victims to diseases communicated by the patients under 
their care. 

THE CAMPAIGN IN KENTUCKY IN THE AUTUMN 

OF 1862. 

The most exciting military events which took place at 
the West during the fall of 1862 were connected with 
Bragg' s invasion of Kentucky. The rebel army which 
liacl retired before Buell, on his advance southward in 
tlie spring of the same year, and that which escaped from 
Corinth while General Halleck was creeping toward it, had 
never been very seriously injured, and having received 
large additions, were, at the period of which I write, more 
powerful than before the taking of Fort Donelson. When, 
tlu^ivforc, nearly all our available force was engaged in the 
effort to liokl the countiy about Corinth, and to maintain 
a front extending from Decatur to Memphis, Bragg took 



THE CAMPAIGN" IIT KEisTTUCKT. 53 

advantage of tlie circumstances, and, flanking Bnell on the 
east, started for tlie Ohio. At the same time Kirby Smith 
advanced northward from East Tennessee; and these two 
armies, moving on converging lines, were expected to meet 
in Kentucky, fall with combined force upon the defenseless 
cities of Louisville and Cincinnati, and accomplish what 
Lee was attempting in the East — what had always been 
the threat and hope of the rebels — the transfer of the seat 
of war from the Southern to the JN'orthern States. Buell 
had early notice of the movement, and immediately began 
a retreat with all the force at his disposal. Too weak, as 
he considered, to risk a fight with Bragg, he chose the 
alternative — a foot-race — and pushed his army northward 
with a degree of energy worthy of all praise, though the 
severity of the march was such that both ofiicers and men 
were almost in a state of nudity and mutiny when they 
arrived at their destination. Fortunately for the country, 
Buell reached Louisville first, and formed a junction with 
the forces which had been gathered there — twenty-eight 
thousand, mostly recruits, under IN'elson. Scarcely giving 
his men time to breathe, he moved again south-easterly, in 
pursuit of Bragg and Smith, who had begun a retreat on 
seeing the failure of their plans. On the 8th of October the 
enemy was overtaken at Perryville, and McCook's corps, 
making, as Buell says, "an unauthorized attack," was met 
by the whole force of the rebels and very roughly handled; 
this corps, thirteen thousand nine hundred strong, losing 
over three thousand in killed and wounded. The rebels, 
having suffered scarcely less severely, retreated before day- 
light the next morning, but the check received by the 
Union army prevented rapid pursuit, and they escaped into 
Tennessee. 

The work performed by the Sanitary Commission, in 
connection with the battle of Perryville, is so fully described 



54 SAXITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERJ^T DEPARTMENT. 

in the reports wliicli follow, that little more need be said in 
regard to it. Much was done, however, both at Cincinnati 
and Louisville, of which no public record exists. When 
Cincinnati was threatened by the forces of Kirby Smith, 
man}^ thousands of the citizens of Ohio and Indiana flew to 
her defense with such arms and equipments as they chanced 
to possess. In the work of feeding and lodging these 
''squirrel hunters," as they were called from the rifles 
with which they were armed, the Cincinnati Branch of the 
Sanitary Commission performed a conspicuous part; con- 
tributing freely of their stores, and giving themselves up, 
almost without exception, to personal and arduous labors. 

At Louisville the garrison was principally composed of 
organized troops, yet most of these were entirely new to 
camp life, untaught in the art of caring for themselves, and 
in many instances imperfectly equipped. For these the 
Kentucky Branch of the Sanitary Commission, and Dr. 
Read, who was present at the time, were able to do much, 
both by personal eflbrts and material contributions, of which 
no report has been or can now be made. 

SANITAEY COMMISSION AT PEREYVILLE, KT. 

At the time of the battle of Perryville I was temporarily 
absent from my head-quarters, and received the news of its 
occurrence while on my way back to Louisville. My place, 
however, was well supplied by our veteran Inspector, Dr. 
Read, who acted in the emergency mtli his usual prompt- 
ness and wisdom. 

The measures which he adopted, and the results he 
accomplished, are simply yet graphically given in the 
accompanying report which he prepared at my request. 

On my arrival a few hours after he had left, I found the 
gentlemen composing the Louisville Branch of our Com- 
mission l)usily engaged in sending forward supi:)lies in the 



THE COMMISSION AT PEREYYILLE. 55 

ambulances wliicli had been provided for liim, with that 
view, by tlie Medical Director. Twenty-one loads went for- 
ward at that time, including, besides the ordinary supply 
of hospital stores, kegs of fresh butter, coops of live 
chickens, and things of that sort, which proved to be of 
inestimable value to those for whom they were intended. 
Through the intervention of my friend, Capt. S. Perkins, 
of the Quartermaster' s Department, these ambulances were 
attached to an ammunition train which traveled rapidly day 
and night, arriving there much sooner than they could have 
done under any other circumstances. 

Owing to the fact that the most important supply train 
forwarded by the Medical Purveyor was prevented for 
many days from reaching its destination, the value of the 
stores forwarded to Dr. Pead was greatly enhanced. 

Most of these stores were furnished from the depot of 
the Louisville Branch of the Sanitary Commission, but 
included large and most valuable contributions from Cincin- 
nati and Cleveland. Subsequently, still further shipments 
were made, at my request, from these points, as also from 
Chicago, all of which went forward, and were distributed 
by Dr. Read and his corps of assistants. 

I should also mention that a delegation from the Cincin- 
nati Branch of our Commission, consisting of several sur- 
geons and a distribu.ting agent, with stores, accompanied 
the ambulance train, and rendered important service in the 
care of the wounded. At a later date a messenger arrived 
from Chicago, having Sanitary stores in charge, which were 
also forwarded to the field. 

I cannot adequately express my high appreciation of the 
promptness and energy with which the Louisville Associates 
engaged in the work of providing for the wants of the 
Perryville sufferers, as well as the disinterested and catholic 
spirit which controlled their action. 



56 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

It gives me pleasure also to testify to tlie liearty and 
efficient co-operation of Dr. Head, Medical Director, and 
Dr. Meylert, Medical Purveyor, in Louisville. While fully 
alive to tlieir responsibilities, zealously and faitlifuU}^ doing 
theii' own duty, tliey afforded us every possible facility in 
tlie discharge of ours. 

REPORT OF DR. A. N. READ, 

INSPECTOR U. S. SANITART COMMISSION, 

On the Measures of Relief afforded to the Wounded in the Battle at Perrjnille, Oct. 8, 1S62. 

Louisville, Kt., October 23, 1862. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Wesiern Department Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — Immediately on the reception of the news of the 
late battle, I took, such measures as were in my power for the per- 
formance of our duty in the relief of the wounded. 

On application to Dr. Head, Medical Director, I obtained at 
once three Government wagons, and the promise of twenty-one 
ambulances, to be ready the day following. The wagons were 
loaded with stores from the Louisville Commission, and started the 
same evening for Perryville. I myself hired a buggy, and taking 
with me Mr. Thomasson, whom I had engaged to go with and assist 
me, pushed on as rapidly as possible. 

We found the first hospital for the wounded at Maxville ; this 
was a tavern, with sixteen rooms, containing one hundred and fifty 
wounded, and thirty sick, mostly from a Wisconsin regiment. 
Twenty-five were on cots; some on straw; the others on the floor, 
with blankets. 

The surgeon in charge — P. P. White, of the 101st Indiana — had 
authority to purchase all things necessary. Flour was very scarce; 
cornmeal, beef, mutton and chickens plenty. There w^as no coffee, 
tea, or sugar to be had. The cooking was all done at a fire-place, 
with two camp-kettles and a few stew-pans. The ladies of the 
town, however, were taking articles home, and cooking them there; 
thus giving great assistance. 

From this place to Perryville, some ten miles, nearly every house 
was a hospital. At one log cabin we found twenty of the 10th 
Oliio, inchiding the major aiul two captains. At another house 



AMOXG THE TTOUXDED. 57 

were several of the 92d Ohio ; and the occupants were yery poor, 
but doing all in their power for those in their charge. The mother 
of the family promised to continue to do so, but said, with tears in 
her eyes, she feared that she and her children must starve when the 
winter came. As at the other houses on this road, the sick had no 
regular medical attendance. I therefore prescribed for them and 
left them medicines. 

^e reached Perryville after dark, Mr. Thomasson giving his place 
in the buggy to a young soldier whom we found lying by the way- 
side, sick and unable to walk. I saw him placed in hospital and 
properly cared for. 

On our arrival we learned that we were the first to bring relief 
where help was needed more than tongue can tell. Instead of seven 
hundred, as first reported, at least two thousand five hundred Union 
men and rebel soldiers were at that time lying in great suffering 
and destitution about Perryville and Harrodsburg. 

In addition to these, many had already been removed, and we 
had met numbers of those whose wounds were less severe walking 
and begging their way to Louisville, eighty-five miles distant. To 
these we frequently gave help and comfort by sharing with them the 
slender stock of food and spirits we had taken with us. 

There had been almost no preparation for the care of the wounded 
at Perryville, and as a consequence the suffering from want of lieljJ 
of all kinds, as well as of proper accommodations, food, medicines 
and hospital stores, was excessive. For this state of things, how- 
ever, the surgeons are not to blame. Both those in authority and 
those in attendance had done and were doing all in their power to 
prevent and mitigate the suffering to which I have alluded. The 
fault lies higher than they — with the superior military authorities 
who withheld from the surgeons the information and denied them 
the resources which alone would have enabled them to meet the 
emergencies of the case. Dr. Marks, of the 10th Wisconsin, was 
in charge at Perryville.* He received us kindly, took care of our 
horse, and gave us shelter. We slept on the floor. In the morning 
he secured for me two rooms, which were put in order, the three 
loads of goods taken in and opened, and a United States Sanitary 
Commission sign placed over the door. Soon after the twenty-one 

*Dr. James Hatchett. Surgeon U. S. Y., soon succeeded Dr. Marks. 



58 SANITAKY COMMISSION — WESTEEN" DEPAKTMENT. 

ambnlances arrived, loaded with our stores. At the same time came 
Dr. Goddard and Mr. Fosdick of Louisville, Dr. Davis, Dr. Walker 
and Mr. Johnson from Cincinnati, (the latter in charge of supplies,) 
all of whom rendered efficient service. 

Surgeons were then notified that stores could be had, and they 
were rapidly given out. There were, at this time, some eighteen 
hundred wounded in and about Perryville. They were all very 
dirty, few had straw or other bedding, some were without blankets, 
others had no shirts, and even now, five days after the battle, some 
are being brought in from temporary places of shelter, whose 
wounds have not yet been dressed. Every house was a hospital, all 
crowded, with very little to eat. At the Seminary building there 
was some fresh mutton, and a large kettle in which soup was being 
made. I left at this house a box of bandages, comfortables, shirts 
and drawers, and a keg of good butter. Three days after, at this 
hospital, I found that the surgeons had improvised bedsteads, and 
had provided comfortable beds for all their patients from the stores 
of the Sanitary Commission. 

Leaving Dr. Goddard to superintend the further distribution of 
supplies, on the 12th I went, with Mr. Thomasson, to Danville. 
We here found the wants of the sick as urgent as those of the 
wounded at Perryville. The Court House was literally packed ; 
many had eaten nothing during the day, most of them nothing 
since morning. I inquired if soup could be made here. The 
surgeons thought not, but kindly gave me authority to get it if I 
could. Mr. Thomasson introduced me to some good Union men, 
through whose assistance I was enabled to succeed in the effort. 
It was now five o'clock in the afternoon. There was no leef in the 
city, but the butcher agreed to bring in an animal, kill it, and have 
it ready in two hours. There was no ivater in the town ; the wells 
were all dry; but the same good butcher sent and hauled water in 
barrels. Then there were no hettles for sale, all having been taken 
by the rebels ; but at last one was found in a private family; another 
discovered two miles out of the city, owned by Mr. John J. Craig; 
he sent that in, saying that he should not want it until hog-killing 
time, and would lend it. No j'^ails were to be had for love or 
money, but I bought some covered firkins with handles, a wash tub 
and spade, then dug trenches and laid stones with my own hands, 
and thus set both kettles. I made a fire of some old boards found 



SOUP MAKI]S"G. 09 

in tlie Court House yard, sent a soldier for some pepper and salt, 
and at half-past ten o'clock I had the satisfaction of seeing two 
thirtj-two-gallon kettles of nutritious and palatable soup ready for 
distribution. This was giyen out at once, but by other hands than 
mine, as by this time I was completely exhausted. The remainder 
of the beef was brought in next morning, and the kettles were kept 
boiling. 

I should not forget to mention the yery essential services 
rendered by Mr. Thomasson. He introduced me to the right men, 
and worked himself at anything and everything, and most 
efficiently. While at Perryville, feeling the disgrace of having 
numbers of the enemy's dead lying yet unburied, he called on 
Colonel Eead, the commander of the post, and obtained a detail of 
negroes and secesh citizens, who worked two days, burying several 
hundred, and completing the task. 

On the 15th, having with much difficulty obtained horses and 
saddles, we rode on to the advance of the army — then at Crab 
Orchard — reaching General Mitchell's division, in General Gilbert's 
corps, after dark. 

On making a hasty inspection of the condition of the troops, I 
found that the new regiments had suffered much from the severity 
of the service they had performed, and the exposure to which they 
had been subjected. The men had made long marches, were without 
tents, had only one blanket or an overcoat each — some one, some 
the other ; their food, hard bread and bacon, beef occasionally; no 
vegetables. For new recruits this had proved rather trying, and 
over ten per cent, had been disabled by it. 

I found several of the regimental surgeons with no medicines 
whatever, and they informed me that they had received strict 
orders not to take any. Some of them told me they had a few 
medicines which they carried on their persons. The spirit of the 
army is not what it should be. Through distrust of the commanding 
General, they are seriously demoralized. 

On my return to Danville, I found the number of sick con- 
siderably increased. As there were many who were without shelter, 
I looked around to find some building where they might be 
carried, and, at least, have a roof over their heads. After some 
search a carriage-shop was found which would answer the purpose. 
This belonged to Mr. J. W. Welch. At my solicitation he 



60 SAXITAEY C0M:MISSI0X — WESTEEX DEPARTMEXT. 

opened it. had the carriages remoyed. and placed it at mv 
disposal. I then procured two loads of straw, which was spread 
upon the floor, and two hundred men were brought in and laid 
upon it. 

Eeturniug to Perryrille. I had the satisfaction of seeing the 
condition of the wounded considerably improyed, thanks to the 
untiring exertions of the surgeons in charge, and the stores we had 
placed at their disposal. ***4c**** 

The Goyernment supplies not haying arriyed, and more stores 
being needed, on the 18th I returned to Louisyille to report to you, 
and procure further assistance. Ten tons of Sanitary stores, on 
fiye large wagons, haye left to-day for Perryyille, and I shall 
start to-morrow with Messrs. Thomasson and Butler, to see to their 
distribution. ***5H4j****h« 

On Monday, October 23d, our stores arriyed at Harrodsburg; a 
room was procured, and stocked with such a proportion of them as 
it was thought best to leaye. 

At Danyille we obtained from the quartermaster by Dr. Shumard's 
assistance, nine wagons to be used in the transportation of our stores 
from Harrodsburg. On their arriyal they were loaded up, and such 
things as were not left at Harrodsburg were sent on to Danyille, 
they and we arriying there again on Monday eyening. 

At this time there were fourteen hundred and fifty sick in Dan- 
yille; all, like those at Perryyille and Harrodsburg, under the 
general superyision of Dr. 0. G. Shumard, Surgeon of Volunteers 
and Medical Director. Since my first yisit much had been accom- 
plished toward making the greater part comfortable, but their 
numbers had increased so rapidly, that the strength and resources 
of the surgeons had neyer been fully equal to the demand on them ; 
and the instances of destitution and suffering were scarcely less 
numerous and aggravated than at the time when I made soup for 
them. 

During this interyal, either from the detention, or destruction 
by guerrillas, of the Government supplies intended for this point, 
comparatively little had been received through that channel, viz: 
Three hundred and thirt3"-three blankets, five hundred pillow ticks, 
four hundred and fifteen bed sacks — no special hospital food, no 
cooking utensils, very few medicines. As a consequence there was 
a pressing want of the stores we brought. This was shown by the 



DISTRIBUTING STORES. 61 

active demand which came for them as soon as their arrival was 
known. 

Through the kindness of the quartermaster who had furnished 
the teams to bring our goods, we secured a fine large store room in 
which they were opened. On our first ride over from Harrodsburg 
we had notified the surgeons that supplies would arrive the next 
day, so that as soon as we were ready to distribute them, we had 
requisitions which would have carried off" at once a stock twice as 
large as ours. **5H**h«*** 

Our stores distributed at Danville consisted of comforts, sheets, 
drawers, pillows and cases, bed ticks, towels, socks, potatoes, eggs, 
dried apples, butter, medicines, (a fine lot, the stock of the pharmacy 
of the hospital steamer "Lancaster,") wines and spirits, sponges, bed 
pans, soap, chocolate, tea, mackerel, green apples, canned fruits, 
pickles, tinware, stationery, matches, etc. ; all of which was exceed- 
ingly acceptable, so much so that we could have given out twice as 
many as we carried, on the requisitions that were made upon us on 
the day of our arrival. 

After seeing our depot at Danville in good working order, and 
the process of distribution going on quietly and well under the 
management of Mr. Butler, we left him there and returned to 
Perry ville. I here found the condition of the wounded greatly 
improved. Several shipments of Sanitary goods had been received 
and distributed, and a fair supply of Government stores had by this 
time arrived. The surgeons had manifestly been active and faithful, 
so that the appearance of the hospitals and their inmates presented 
a strong contrast to the not exaggerated picture which I gave of 
them when making a report of my first visit. We left at Perryville 
a portion of the stores which we took with us, but by far the larger 
part was left where the wants were greater. * * * * 

At Perryville, as elsewhere, I had frequent opportunities of 
observing the effect of the distribution of hospital stores — clothing 
and delicacies — to the sick or wounded of special regiments by 
special agents, and I am constrained to say that, wherever followed, 
this system works badly. 

The surgeons don^t like it, and it does not seem wholly acceptable 
to the recipients of the partial bounty. A case in point, which 
came under my own eyes, will illustrate this. Alphonso Jones, of 
Company D, 10th Wisconsin, lying seriously wounded in one of the 



62 SAIs^ITARY COMMISSION" — WESTERI^ DEPARTMEN"T. 

hospitals where the agent of the State had been distributing gifts 
to the Wisconsin boys only — overhearing some expressions of dis- 
approbation made to me by the surgeon in charge — spoke up and 
said, "I don't like it either; it made me feel bad to have things 
giyen to me, and not to the boy lying next me ; but I made it all 
right ; I divided with him." 

LETTER OF DR. G. G. SHUMARD, 

MEDICAL DIRECTOR DANVILLE DISTRICT. 

Medical Directok's Office, 

Danville, Ky., December 20, 1862. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Associate Secretary Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — Permit me, through you, to acknowledge my obligations 
to the United States Sanitary Commission for the very efficient aid it has 
rendered me, in furnishing supplies for the sick and wounded soldiers 
under my charge at a time when they could not be obtained through any 
other source. 

When the hospitals were lirst established in this District, we were 
almost entirely destitute of hospital and medical supplies, including almost 
ever}' article necessary for the comfort of the sick. With an miusually 
large number of sick and wounded on our bonds, we were compelled to see 
them sufler without the proper means of aft'ording them relief. 

The condition of things was immediately telegraphed to the Medical 
Purvej'or in Louisville, and that officer, with his usual promptness, at once 
furnished everj'thing necessary to render our sick comfortable ; but, from 
some cause, the supx)lies were detained several weeks on the road, and were 
not received until long after those arrived that w^ere sent hy the Sanitarj^ 
Commission. 

Considering the large number of sick and wounded in the District, 
(between six and seven thousand,) and the almost total absence of every 
thing necessary to render them comfortable, I have no doubt that the 
timely aid afforded by the Commission in this single instance has been the 
means of preventing much suffering, as well as of saving man}- valuable 
lives. 

I trust that the Commission will be able to continue in its good work, 
and that it may have, as it certainly deserves, the thanks of every friend of 
humanity. 

I am, dear sir, very respectfully, 

Geo. G. Shumard, Surgeon U. S. A., 

Medical Director Danville District 



XEEDLESS SUFFEEIXG. 63 

Tlie view wliicli I took, at the time, of the causes of 
the destitution and suffering at PeiTTville, is given in the 
following extract from a letter written to the General 
Secretary : 

Louisville, October 24, 1862. 
Feed. Law Olmsted, Esq., 

General Secrttary U. S. Sanifart/ Commission : 
Di-:aii Sir— 

From a combination of canses, the condition of the wonnded in 
the battle of Perryville was pecnliarly distressing. Xo adequate 
provision had been made for their care. The stock of medicines 
and hospital stores in the hands of the surgeons was insignificant. 
They had almost no ambulances, no tents, no hospital furniture, 
and no proper food. In addition to this, the small village of Perry- 
ville afforded but very imperfect means for the care of the great 
number of wounded concentrated there, either in the way of build- 
ings to be used as hospitals, or resources and appliances of any 
other kind. 

The surrounding country had been overrun and devastated by 
two great armies, and the inhabitants impoverished in all possible 
ways. As a consequence, nearly everything necessary to the proper 
care of the sick or wounded men had to be imported from a con- 
siderable distance : and before the recj[uisite assistance in men and 
means could, through any agencies, reach the battle field, untold 
suffering, and even deaths had occurred, which might have been 
prevented, if help and supplies had been present, or readily 
accessible. 

It is true that such sad scenes as those witnessed at Perryville 
have been recorded among the incidents of nearly all battles of 
ancient or modern times, so that by many they have come to be 
regarded as inseparable ingredients of the horror of war. This, 
however, I contend, is a fatal fallacy. I am no optimist, and have 
no idea that war can be so softened down and Christianized, as to 
be otherwise than unutterably hideous in all its aspects; and yet 
my observation has led me to believe that by far the saddest cases 
which war presents, the cases of those who lie for days helpless and 
neglected on the battle field, who perish by the slow oozing of their 



64 SANITAEY COMMISSIOlfr — WESTERIT DEPARTMENT. 

life-blood, by cold, by heat, by thirst, by starvation, when the sim- 
plest succor might restore them to life and health, to the ranks, and 
their homes — that these, the only cases in which the victims of war 
are now tortured to death, are generally gratuitous and unnecessary 
exhibitions of individual perversity, or official incompetence, gene- 
rated and grown under a vicious system of military administration ; 
and that, being such, they are a disgrace to our civilization, our 
Christianity, and our cause. 

The evil to which I refer is a great and sad one, and if, as I 
believe, it is avoidable, it is one that must be abated if we hope to 
keep alive the patriotism and enthusiasm of our soldiers, and retain 
the favor of an all-seeing God. But if these are crimes, not fates 
or Providences, who are their authors ? 

The surgeons are known to have the immediate care of the sick 
and wounded of our armies, and are generally held responsible for 
their treatment in all respects. It is therefore exceedingly common 
to hear in conversation, or to see in print, the gravest charges of 
cruelty, incompetency, or gross neglect of duty made against sur- 
geons of the regiments, of the divisions, or the department in 
which these instances of unnecessary suffering have occurred. This 
I can assure you is, as a general rule, a cruel mistake. 

From the beginning of the war it has been my special duty to 
look after the manner in which the surgeons connected with the 
armies of the West have done their work. Many of them I have 
known for years in civil life, and of most who have held official 
positions in this Department since its first organization, I can say 
that I have had the means of learning with great accuracy whether 
or not they have been faithful to their trust. And now, with nothing 
to fear from their displeasure, or to gain from their favor, moved 
by regard for truth and justice alone, my testimony is, that, as a 
class, they have been greatly misjudged and misrepresented. 

It is not true, as seems to be too generally suspected, that when 
a medical man accepts a military appointment, he thereby and at 
once sells himself, body and soul, to the devil. On the contrary, I 
do not hesitate to say that the most hard-working, self-denying, 
earnest and conscientious officers in the army, are its surgeons. 

I do not, of course, arrogate to the class any superhuman virtues. 
They are all simply men, and have men's imperfections. And there 
are those among them so ignorant, and others so depraved, that 



WHEEE THE FAULT LIES. 65 

they are a curse to the seryice, opprohria to the profession and a 
disgrace to those by whom they were commissioned. Yet such are 
few. Most are laborious, faithful and meritorious. The greater 
part have passed a rigid examination before a competent medical 
board, by whom they were declared well qualified for their duties, 
and haye since, by their services in the field, vindicated the pro- 
priety of their selection from the great number of candidates for 
the places which they hold. During the last year all the surgeons 
have been overworked, ^one that I know have escaped disease 
contracted in the discharge of their duties ; many have gone home 
with their health permanently broken, and not a few have been 
martyrs to their faithfulness. 

^or is it true that the chief medical officers are any exceptions 
to the rule I have laid down for the corps. It gives me pleasure to 
state that — after long and thorough experience of the manner in 
which the duties of their offices have been administered by the 
venerable Chief of General Halleck's Medical Staff, Dr. McDougal; 
General Buell's Medical Director, Dr. Murray ; and those who now 
hold the most responsible positions at this point, Drs. Head and 
Meylert, respectively Medical Director and Purveyor — I have found 
in their manner and measures very much to admire and praise; 
almost nothing to condemn. I am sure all who know the gentlemen 
I have enumerated, as I do, will unite with me in pronouncing 
them faithful and efficient officers, high-toned and honorable men. 
Struggling with various and discouraging impedimenta, they have 
earnestly and with singleness of purpose striven to do their duty 
thoroughly and well, and have deplored more than others can, the 
embarrassments by which their action has been fettered, their good 
and wise purpose thwarted. Could the truth be known, they would 
receive sympathy and honor from the public, rather than the 
obloquy so many are disposed to heap upon them. 

Who, then, is responsible for the facts, that at the battles of 
Fort Douelson, Shiloh and Perryville, no adequate provision was 
made beforehand for the care of the wounded ; that proper supplies 
of medicines and hospital stores and an abundance of appropriate 
food were not on hand or within easy reach ? Whose fault is it that 
there were so few surgeons and trained assistants ; so few ambu- 
lances, and ambulance attendants; that men must lie two, three, 
four days on the battle field before they could be taken up, sheltered 

5 



66 SAXITAET COXMISSIOX — T^'ESTERX DEPAETMEXT. 

from the sun. the frost, the rain : their hunger and thirst assuaged 
and their wounds dressed ? 

Whose fault is it tliat many a poor fellow, hardy and brave 
though he might he. unequal to the torture entailed by such 
neglect — worn out by his long suffering and exposure — has yielded 
up his life, so precious to his country and his home ? 

To any one acquainted with the theory of our military organiza ■ 
tion, and familiar with the perso/Utel of our army, the question 
need not be a difficult one. The fault is, for the most part, incident 
to the workings of a defectiye system, in special instances aggra- 
yated by individual incompetency. The defect in our military 
system, a defect which bears the sad cases I have described as its 
natural fruit, is this — that to the Medical Department, on which 
the responsibility and the care of the sick reposes, ?io j;a?'^ of the 
functions of the Quartermaster and Commissary Department are 
independently entrusted. 

As a consequence, the sick, having no official representative in 
these departments, are constantly the victims of the caprices or 
necessities of those whose duty is first to do their own work, and 
then attend to them if they can. TThen, and not bef<)re, the sur- 
geons are provided with independent means of transportation and 
subsistence for the sick, we can hold them fully responsible for 
their care. 

In theory, the ''art of war" is a game like chess, in which 
the combinations and movements can only be constantly suc- 
cessful where the powers of the pieces remain unimpaired. To 
the purely military tactician, therefore, the sick of his command 
become an embarrassing and vexatious hmdrance. They are I'eally 
evesores to him; and, associated with them, the surgeons, their 
guardians, are too often looked upon as necessary evils, and with no 
special comiDlacency. If fully inspired with the animus of his pro- 
fession, and not deterred by considerations of humanity, every 
military commander would abandon the disabled of his forces with- 
out care. Having before him the sole object to win the game, he 
would throw off every incubus at once. Xow, humanity forbids 
that this should be done, but the inducement and the impulse 
remain, and their influence is felt by all military men. Their 
impatience under the restraint of a long sick list is shown in 
various ways. 



A EE]\IEDY SUGGESTED. 67 

One Greneral of Diyision within the last few months, and under 
my own observation, determined to eradicate sickness from his 
command by ordering all men under medical treatment to appear 
daily at dress parade. And so they did, day after day — those able 
to walk, dragging themselves out under the broiling sun to witness 
the ceremony ; those unable to help themselves, dragged thither in 
ambulances. This system, if pursued sufficiently long, would doubt- 
less have been successful, driving all malingerers back to the ranks; 
the really sick rapidly to their graves. 

Another military chieftain, commander of a great army at a 
later date, indeed, a very recent date, led his forces, by rapid 
marches, across a State; many, if not all, his regimental surgeons 
being prohibited, by special order, from taking with them any 
medical supplies whatever. Some of them are to-day, as I know, 
following their regiments with no other remedial agents than such 
as they carry, in defiance of orders, about their persons. 

Was it surprising, then, that when the forces of this General 
met the enemy, and a bloody battle ensued, there was no adequate 
preparation for the wounded, and, as a consequence of this want of 
preparation, there was great suffering, and lives were lost? N"or 
was it surprising that the chief medical officer of this army, an 
eminent surgeon, a most efficient officer, a man endeared to all his 
associates in that army by his kindness and courtesy, after months 
endurance of what seemed a studied disregard of the claims of his 
Department, felt compelled to ask to be relieved. 

This disquisition has perhaps become wearisome, but it includes, 
as it seems to me, an explanation of the reasons why adequate pro- 
vision was not made for the care of the wounded at Perry^dlle, and 
why, in defiance of the lessons taught by the history of our previous 
engagements, the scenes of suff'ering and destitution there witnessed 
were here repeated. 

In answering these questions, it also points out the mode in 
which our modern civilization and more refined humanity can 
improve upon the methods of the past, and mitigate in great 
measure some of the darkest horrors of war. To enunciate more 
formally the proposition I have made — not a new one, as I am 
aware — hy tlie addition to the medical corps of a tody of trained 
assistants, ivliose duty it shall he to gather up and remove the tuounded 
from the hattle field, and perform for them the first necessary offices 



68 SAXITAET COXAIISSIOX — WESTERX DEPAETMEXT. 

of relief ; and entrusting to tliat departnient indejjendent means of 
transportation and subsistence for the sicl\ much will be done to 
economize life, jjrevent suffering, and improve tJie Jiealth of the army. 
If this be true, tlie subject demands our immediate attention, and 
otu' most earnest and unwearied efforts. 

Yonrs respectfully. 

J. S. Xetvbeeet, 
Secretary U. S. Sanitari/ Commission, Western Depaiiment. 

ESTABLISHMEXT OF THE LOUISVILLE OFFICE. 

Witli tlie ex]3ausion of ottr work in 1862 I fotind nivself. 
at Cleveland, too far from tlie center of oiir yride field of 
operations. Therefore, on the 1st of October — with great 
regret at being again compelled to leave my famHv, fr-om 
wliom I had been already so much separated — I transferred 
my liead-qnarters to Louisville. Ky. : a point just then the 
focns of interest, and destined, as I thought, to be the most 
important military center at the ATest. This anticix3ation 
proved correct, as the ofiices of the Chief Qnartermaster 
and Assistant Surgeon G-eneral were soon transferred there. 
Such was the relation of Louisville to the home field at the 
Xorth. and to the theater of important military operations 
at the South, that every subsequent day' s experience con- 
firmed the wisdom of this choice of location for the AYestern 
Central Office. 

At this time the Kentucky Branch of the Commission was 
in vigorous action, doing, as it had been for some months, 
a great amount of work in tlie supervision and supply of 
the twenty-one hos^ntals located in Louisville, as well as 
performing all the labor of receiving and shi^Dping Sanitary 
stores passing through Louisville to the hospitals in the 
interior of Kentucky, and for the supply of our depots at 
Bowling Green, Gallatin and Xashville. For a year and 
more, Messrs. He^'wood and Henderson and Dr. T. S. Bell 
had given almost their entu*e time to this work, rendering 



THE LOUISVILLE OFFICE. 69 

to Dr. Murray, the Medical Director, such raluable aid in 
the location and equipment of hospitals as to receive fre- 
quent acknowledgments from him. They had also sup- 
ported and managed a Soldiers' Home which had been 
opened in the preceding February. 

By all the members of the Kentucky Branch I was most 
cordially welcomed, and every possible assistance was given 
me in the establishment of my head-quarters. And now, 
after three years' residence with these gentlemen, it gives 
me great pleasure to .say that I always found them truly 
loyal to the Sanitary Commission, among its most efficient 
and useful representatives, and so cordial in their co-opera- 
tion with me that no jealousies or discord ever marred the 
harmony of our intercourse. Xo language I could use 
would exaggerate the esteem and aifection with which I 
regard them. 

So much of the local Sanitary work as they were villing 
to take upon themselves was left to the members of the 
Kentucky Branch, while the responsibility of the general 
operations of the Commission was assumed by myself. A 
commodious dwelling-house, adjoiningthat occupied by the 
Medical Dii^ector, was taken for the Western Central Office, 
and the large warehouse occupied by the Kentucky Branch 
was turned over to me, mth the exception of one story, 
which was retained by them as an office and depot of 
supplies. 

The building used as a Soldiers' Home was now entirely 
inadequate to supply the wants of this important station. 
By the authority of the Board of Commissioners I had a 
building, one hundred by twenty-five feet in dimensions, 
put up near the JS'ashville depot, and fully equipped for 
the accommodation of one hundred lodgers. This was 
placed in charge of the Branch Commission, and under this 
good management was indeed a home to many thousands 



70 SAXITARY COMMISSION" — WESTEEK DEPARTMEiN'T. 

of tliose who would otliermse liave been without friends, 
food, or shelter. The subsequent history of the Louisville 
Soldiers' Home, with the details of the good work accom- 
plished by it, will be found among the Reports of the Special 
Relief Department. 

THE HOSPITAL DIKE C TORY. 

Soon after the opening of the Louisville office a branch 
of the Hospital Directory was established there, and 
placed under the supervision of Mr. H. S. Holbrook. He 
proved himself peculiarly qualified for the duty committed 
to him, and, mainly through his efforts and influence, this 
soon grew to be one of the most important and useful 
departments of our work ; as will be seen by reference to 
the final Report of the Hospital Directory, in the Records 
of the Special Relief Department. 

The want of a uniform s^^stem of record and report 
in the Supply Department was early felt, both in the con- 
tributing and distributing depots ; and, about the time of 
the establishment of the Louisville office, such forms were 
devised and were distributed to all the Branches and 
depots, where they were generally used to the close of 
the war. 

EXPANSION or OUE WORK. 

In the autumn of 1862 the armies of the West were very 
largely increas(xl by new levies, and both veterans and 
recruits were constantly engaged in service of such activity 
and severity that their powers of endurance were tried to 
the utmost. As a natural consequence, the number of sick 
and wounded soon became double what it had been at any 
])r('vi()iis pei'iod, and the demand for all forms of relief 
afi'orded by tlu* Sanitary Commission was particularly 
urgent. To meet this demand, and provide for the results 
of tlic iin])()i-taiit inilitaiy movements then inaugurated, a 



EXPAKSIOK OF OUR WORK. 71 

thorough reorganization and great expansion of our work 
were rendered desirable. The increase of our resources, 
through the splendid contributions of California, enabled 
the Board to authorize such enlargement of our operations 
as the circumstances seemed to require. 

I w^as empow^ered to expend a much larger sum monthly 
than at any time before, and was expected to take such 
measures as should be necessary to carry on our work at 
the West on the same liberal scale as that alread}^ adopted 
in the East. Comparatively few words will suffice to record 
the results of the efforts made for the accomplishment of 
this object, but it is scarcely necessary to say that any 
description that may be given of this portion of our history 
will convey but a faint idea of the amount of labor it 
involved, and the harrassiug cares by which it w^as 
attended. 

The concentration of troops on the Mississippi, and the 
preparations for the impending campaign before Yicksburg, 
opened a new and wide field for our efforts. A new Sanitary 
District was, therefore, created for the country bordering 
the Mississippi, and furnished with a full corps of agents. 
The head-quarters of this District w^ere located at Mem- 
phis. Dr. H. A. Warriner was appointed Chief Inspector; 
Drs. Bettelheim, Estabrook and Fithian, Inspectors; Mr. 
H. Tone, Chief Storekeeper ; C. W. Christy, Chief Relief 
Agent, with such subordinate assistants as were required. 

The Department of the Cumberland — Eosecrans' army — 
was placed in charge of Dr. A. N. Read, as Chief Inspector, 
with numerous assistants ; their head- quarters being at 
JSTashville. The West Virginia District remained in charge 
of Dr. Parker; Kansas, as before, under J. R. Brown. 
Within a few weeks the number of our agents in the field 
was more than doubled. In order to secure the services of 
men qualified for the more responsible positions, it was 



72 SAIS^ITARY COMMISSION" — WESTEEIS" DEPAETMENT. 

iiecessaiy to searcli the whole loyal ISTorthwest and enlist 
the co-operation of our friends in eveiy State. New Agen- 
cies were planted at various points, and for each we were 
compelled to provide a corps of agents to perforin all the 
different departments of our work. Soldiers' Homes were 
established at Memphis and jN'ashville, and those at Cau^o 
and Louisville were so greatly enlarged that their capacity 
was many times multiplied. Each of these Homes required 
to be manned by agents of special and rare qualifications ; 
and their equipment with bedding, furniture, table service, 
ranges, cooking utensils, office furniture, record books, 
etc., involved both a large expenditure and great labor and 
care. 

HOSPITAL y I S I T O E S . 

The new office of Hospital Visitor was now created to 
meet the wants of individual cases, and to supply the moral 
and religious element which was felt to be somewhat want- 
uig in our work. Several earnest clergymen of different 
denominations were engaged for this duty, whose mission 
was "to view the hospital in the light of humanity and 
religion, and carry relief and consolation to all individual 
cases of want, neglect, or suffering." The duty of the 
hospital visitors was essentially the same with that sub- 
sequently performed by the delegates of the Christian 
Commission. From the 1st of January, 1863, to the close 
of tlie war, we always had in service a corj)s of clergymen 
who were doing most faitlifully that work which it was 
frequently asserted was by us entirely neglected. At one 
time there were thirteen clergymen, of unexceptionable 
character, in our service in this Department. 

HOSPITAL CARS. 

For the transportation of sick and Avounded men by 
water, 11i<* Govci'iinK'nt, stimulated by the experience of 



HOSPITAL CARS. 73 

Pittsburg Landing, had provided four liosx)ital boats, wliich 
were sufficient for tlie performance of all duties devolving 
upon them, except in times of extreme emergency. On 
land, however, no special provision had been made for 
transporting invalids. In October, 1862, the first hospital 
cars used at the West were fitted up for the transportation 
to Louisville of the wounded from the battle of Perryville. 
As our armies progressed southward the lines of communi- 
cation mth them constantly lengthened, and it became 
necessary to make more ample provision for what was now 
an important branch of our work. Other cars were pro- 
vided for the transportation of the sick on the Louisville 
and I^ashville Railroad. Though subsequently the greater 
portion of the expense attending the organization of hospital 
trains was borne by the Government, their supervision and 
management were left to us for more than a year and a half, 
and an aggregate expenditure in their equipment and main- 
tenance was made, from the funds of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, to the amount of over seven thousand dollars. 

caxvassi:n'g agexts. 

At the same time that our machinery for the work of 
supply and relief in the field was thus expanded and im- 
proved, a* systematic effort was made to secure the produc- 
tion and transmission of an increased and regular income of 
hospital stores from all parts of the jN'orthwest. With this 
object in view, canvassing agents were employed, who, in 
co-operation with our Branches, traversed Western K'ew 
York, Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, 
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. By theu- efforts a 
most active and efficient Branch Commission was organized 
at Pittsburgh, Aid Societies were planted in hundreds of 
new localities, and the labors of those before existing were 
enlightened and stimulated. These agents were everywhere 



74 SAKITAEY COMMISSION — WESTEEIS" DEPARTMENT. 

cordially received by our Brancli Societies, who recognized 
in them a valuable aid to their own work. 

SUPPLY STEAMER. 

Free transportation of stores had been most liberally 
afforded us by railroads and steamboat lines throughout the 
loyal States, and provision was made by orders from the 
commanding generals of the Departments, or by arrange- 
ments mtli their local representatives, which not only 
secured to us free transportation within the limits of the 
military Departments, but, in the time and manner of trans- 
portation, placed us on an equality with the different 
branches of the military service. Messengers were also 
appointed to accompany all important shipments of stores, 
in order to secure their safety and prevent delay, yet, 
although all our goods shipped by Government on water 
transports went free of expense, the irregularity of the trips 
of the Government steamers rendered it necessary for us to 
seek some other mode of securing a certain and abundant 
supply of stores for our depots situated upon the already 
long line of water communication under the control of our 
armies, and for the large fleet of armed vessels plying upon 
the Mississippi and its tributaries. A supply steamer was 
therefore chartered in the latter part of 1862, and, with 
some intermissions, was kept running till April, 1863, when 
the expenses of her charter were assumed b}^ the Govern- 
ment, and she was permanently placed at our disposal by 
special order from General Grant. 

When all the measures enumerated above for the 
increased efficiency of our efforts were brought into action, 
and not till then, did I feel that we fully occux)ied the 
ground, and with pro]oer care were sure of the thorough 
performance of our work. As the sequel proved, all this 
preparation was made none too soon. 



CHAPTER III. 



E ^V lEI IsT T S OIF 1863 



A YEAE OF YICTORY. 

Important military movements followed each other dnring 
1863 in such rapid succession that all our force was con- 
stantly and laboriously employed, and our energies were 
taxed to the utmost in the attempt to keep pace with the 
march of armies and events. During most of the year over 
four hundred thousand men were under arms in the West,- 
and of these there were almost constantly over fifty thou- 
sand in hospital or on sick leave. 

In all respects this was the most important year of 
the war. The victories which it brought to the Union 
arms — beginning with that of Murfreesboro, January 1st, 
culminating in the capture of Yicksburg, July 4th, and 
closing with the battle of Chattanooga, November 23d to 
25th, in truth, "broke the back of the rebellion." Subse- 
quent operations consisted mainly in following up the 
advantages then gained. The enemy had played his best 
cards and lost. His resources had been all called out, and 
since they had proved inadequate, the result was only a 
question of time. The unanimity and desperation of the 
Southern people had been met by an equal degree of unity 
and patriotism at the ISTorth, which, backed by a firmer 
fibre and more patient and determined spirit, and by tenfold 
greater resources, pursued and overwhelmed the rebels in 
their own mountain fastnesses, and beside their own hearth- 
stones, where they had boasted and believed themselves 
invincible. 



76 SAIs^ITAKT COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Previous to tlie battle of Miirfreesboro we liad Agencies 
at Bowling Green, Gallatin, and Nasliville ; manned by a 
sufficient nnniber of agents, and kept as well supplied with 
stores as the imperfect means of transportation afforded 
by the Louisville and l^ashville Kailroad would permit. 
When the Cumberland river was low, this railroad was the 
only dependence of our army in Tennessee for supplies. 
Running through a countr}^ really hostile and constantly 
overrun by guerrillas, it was frequently broken and com- 
munication with N'ashville interrupted. General Rosecrans 
took command of the Army of the Cumberland on the 10th 
of IN'ovember, 1862, and tlLl Christmas it was concentrated 
at JS'ashville. Bragg had gone into winter quarters at 
Murfreesboro, but his army occupied all the country south 
of K'ashville, reaching to the Cumberland above and below 
the city. Almost nothing, therefore, could be obtained by 
foraging in Tennessee ; and such were the difficulties in the 
transportation of supplies that, during the first month of 
his stay in l^ashville, General Rosecrans was only able to 
accumulate five days' surplus rations for his army. On the 
26th of December he had thirty days' provisions in advance, 
and moved forward, though mtli an inferior force, to attack 
Bragg wherever he should find him. 

On assuming command of the Department, General 
Rosecrans had declared himself a w^arm friend of the 
Sanitary Commission, and he then, as afterward, gave to 
us every privilege and facility he could command, for the 
thorougli and pleasant performance of our work. 

Notwithstanding the priceless value of food for the army 
at this time, and the difficulty in the way of transportation, 
we were awarded a most libei-al share of that transportation 
for our stores, and so large a supply had been forwarded in 
DecemlxT that oui- depots before mentioned were well 
stocked, ajid we liad llicii six agents at Nashville who 



BATTLE OF MUEFREESBOEO. 77 

enjoyed Mendlj and confidential relations with the Com- 
manding General. I had supposed it would be necessary for 
US to provide independent supply trains to accompany the 
army in its advance; but on appljdng to General Rosecrans 
for the necessary protection for our train, he assui'ed us 
that, no matter what the emergency might be, we should 
have all the transportation that we required and that he 
could command, for our stores and agents. This promise 
was frequently reiterated and faithfully kept. AVe were 
thus saved from an immense amount of labor and anxiety, 
and from an effort which would certainly have been enor- 
mously expensive and in all probability a failure. 

THE BATTLE OF MURFEEESBORO. 

The Army of the Cumberland encountered the enemy on 
the 31st of December on the banks of Stone River, near 
Murfreesboro, and thirty miles south-east from Xashville. 
The fight continued four days — on the first resulting disas- 
trously to us, but ultimately terminating in the retreat of 
the Confederates, with a reported loss of fourteen thousand 
^ye hundred and sixty. Our own losses in this battle were 
one thousand five hundred and thMy- three killed, and seven 
thousand two hundred and forty -five wounded. From the 
inclemency of the weather, the want of proper hosj^ital 
accommodations, and limited supplies, the sufferings of the 
wounded from the battle of Murfreesboro were great. They 
were, however, ameliorated by all possible efforts on the 
part of the military and medical authorities, and by the 
ministrations of the Sanitary Commission. 

As a part of the rebel tactics, the Louisville and IS'ash- 
ville Raili'oad was broken by Morgan about the time of the 
battle of Murfreesboro, and we were thus prevented from 
forwarding agents and stores Tvitli such promptness or in 
such quantity as was requisite and desirable. Fortunately 



78 SAXITARY COMMISSION — TTESTEKJ^" DEPARTMENT. 

tlie Cumberland river was in good navigable order, and large 
shipments were made at once by boat, reaching JS'asliville 
prom23tly and in good condition. Dr. Read and a number 
of volunteer and employed agents also went hj tlie over- 
land route in wagons to Munfordsville, taking with them a 
good supply of the more portable and perishable stores. 
Both proved exceedingly useful, and contributed much to 
the success achieved by the Sanitary Commission. An 
Agency was established at Murfreesboro immediately after 
the battle. In February it was placed in charge of Mr. M. 
C. Read, who with characteristic energy made this for the 
time the most important field- station at the West. The field 
relief corps was in charge of Dr. A. ]^. Read, with Dr. A. 
Castleman, C. Atwater, Rev. J. C. Hoblit, and others, as 
assistants ; making an aggregate number of fifteen agents. 
The value of the services rendered to the army upon this 
occasion, by the Sanitary Commission, may be inferred from 
the testimonials of General Rosecrans, General Sheridan, 
Colonel Moody, and others, which follow. 

TESTIMONIAL OE MAJOR GENERAL ROSECRANS. 

Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland. 

Murfreesboro, February 2, 1863. 

The General Commanding presents his warmest acknowledgments to the 
Mends of the soldiers of this army, whose generous sympathy with the suf- 
fering of the sick and wounded has induced them to send for their comfort 
numerous Sanitary supplies, which are continually arriving by the hands of 
individuals and charitable societies. AYhile he highly appreciates and does 
not undervalue the charities which have been lavished on tliis army, experi- 
ence has demonstrated the importance of system and impartiality, as well as 
judgment and economy, in the forwarding and distributing of these supplies. 

In all these respects the United States Sanitary Commission stands unri- 
valed. Its organization, experience, and large facilities for the work, are 
such that the Genei'al does not hesitat'e to recommend, in the most urgent 
manner, all those wlio desire to send Sanitary- supplies, to contide them to 
the care of this Commission. They will thus insure the supplies reaching 
their destination without wastage or expense of agents or transportation, 
and their being distributed in a judicious manner, without disorder or inter- 
ference with the regulations or usages of the service. This Commission 
acts in full concert with the medical department of the armj^, and enjoys its 



TESTIMONIALS. 79 

confidence. It is thus enabled M-itli few agents to do a large amount of 
good, at the proper time and in the proper way. Since the battle of Stone 
Kiver it has distributed a surprisingly large amount of clothing, lint, band- 
ages and bedding, as well as milk, concentrated beef, fruit, and other 
Sanitary scores essential to the recovery of the sick and wounded. 

^y. S EOSECRAXS, 

JIajor General Commanding Deparimeni. 

LETTER OF COLO X EL MOODT. 

MUKFEEESBORQ. Texn., February 5. 
Dr. a. X. Eead, 

Inspector Z'niied States Sanito.ry Commissian : 

Sir — I desire to express to you, and through you to the generous and 
patriotic donors sustaining the Sanitary Commission, my high appreciation 
of the works of love in which they are engaged. As I have visited the 
various hospitals in this place, and looked upon the pale faces of the suffer- 
ers, and marked the failing strength of many a manly form, I have rejoiced 
in spirit, as I have seen your benevolence embodied iii substantial forms of 
food, delicacies, and clothing, judiciously and systematically distributed by 
those who are officially connected with the army. 

TTe would advise all who wish to extend the hand of their charitj' so as 
to reach the suffering officers and soldiers, who have stood "between their 
loved homes and the war's desolation," to commit their offerings to the cus- 
tody of the United States Sanitary Commission, an organization authorized 
by the Secretary of War and the Surgeon General, having the confidence of 
the entire army, and affording a direct and expeditious medium of commu- 
nication ^^■ith the several divisions of the army, free of expense to the 
donors, and entirely reliable in its character. It is also Avorthy of special 
note, that the goods entrusted to the Commission are distributed to those 
w^ho are actually sick or convalescent, and this is done under the security of 
the most responsible persons in Its employ, and through regularly estab- 
lished official Agencies in the army. If the patriotic donors of the several 
States would direct their contributions into this channel, it would save much 
expense of Agencies, blend the sympathies of Union men of the several 
States, and prevent unpatriotic distinctions in the patients in the hospitals, 
who are from every regiment, from every State. Side by side they fought 
and were wounded, and side by side they suffer in the hospitals ; and the 
Commission, through appropriate Agencies, extends its aid alike to the sons 
of V^irginia and Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, 
Michigan and 3Iissouri, thus giving prominence to our cherished national 
motto — ''We are many in one."" As an illustration, the other day an agent 
of a Wisconsin society came to a hospital with sanitary goods for Wisconsin 
soldiers, and went along the wards making careful discrimination in behalf 
of Wisconsin soldiers, but soon saw that It was an ungracious task, and 
handed over his goods to the United States Sanitarj' Commission. Learning 
this, one of the Wisconsin soldiers said: ''I am glad of that, for it made me 
feel so bad. when mv friends gave me those good things the other dav, and 



80 SAXITAKY COMillSSIOi^ — WESTEEK DEPAETMENT. 

passed by that Illinois boy on the next bed there, who needed them just as 
much as I did; but I made it square, fori divided what I o^ot with him." 
Brave, noble fellow ; his was the true spirit of a soldier of the United States. 
We have a common country, language, religion, interest and destiny ; and 
we should closely weave the web of our unity, so that the genius of liberty 
may, like Him "who went about doing good," wear a " seamless garment." 
We believe in the Constitutional rights of States, but most emphatically 
believe in our glorious nationality, which, like the sun amidst the stars, has 
a surpassing glory and is of infinitely greater importance, and should be 
cherished in every appropriate form of development. 

Granville Moody, 
Colonel Commanding Seventy-fourth Begiment Ohio Volunteers. 

LETTEE FEOM MEDICAL DIEECTOE A.1ST> E KD ES E ME NT 
OF MAJOE GEI^EEAL SHEEIDAIT. 

Head-Quarters Third Division, Twentieth Army Corps, 

Medical Department, May 1, 1863. 
Sir — Allow me, through you, to return the sincere thanks of the medical 
oflicers of this Di\ision to the United States Sanitary Commission for their 
uniform promptness and attention to the wants of the sick and wounded 
soldiers. 

It has been my lot to be with this Division, as Medical Director, through 
two hard-foiight battles, (Perry^dlle and Stone Eiver,) where we had many 
wounded men, with o\\\j limited means of ministering to their comfort; 
consequently I have had a good opportunity of judging of the efiiciency of 
your organization, and of the benefits derived from it. Through the prompt- 
ness of the Commission our wounded were more comfortably situated within 
forty-eight hours after the battle than they were eight days afier the battle 
of Shiloh. To your organization we are indebted, also, for many valuable 
suggestions which have added much to the comfort of camp life. 

AVith the most sincere hope that your organization may receive the 
continued sui^port it deserves, I am, 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

D. Y. Griffith, 
Surgeon Second Kentucky Volunteers and Medical Birector. 
Dr. Castleman, 

Inspector United States Sanitary Commission. 

Endorsed as follows; 

Head-C^uarters Third Division, Taventieth Corps, 

Near Murfreesboro, Tenn., May 4, 1863. 
1 take great pleasure in endorsing every word of the within letter, and 
desire to return, through the ^tedical Inspector, my sincere thanks to the 
Sauitarj^ Commission for their almost invaluable services to my wounded 
men at Perryvillc and Stone River. P. H. Sheridan, 

Major General. 



MILITAEY MOYEMEXTS. 81 

After tlie battle of Murfreesboro, no militaiy event of 
great importance took place in the Department of the Cnm- 
berland for several months, thongli a snccession of sorties, 
made into different parts of the enemy* s country — nsnally 
severe marches, attended ^dth more or less bloodshed — 
contributed to keep the army on the qui m^e and the 
hospitals fnll. 

From the hospitals established at Murfi-eesboro, a large 
part of the wounded were transported, as soon as possible, 
to Kash^ille, where they could be more comfortably accom- 
modated and better cared for. A period of comparative 
rest was, therefore, allowed our agents at Murfreesboro, 
and this was improved by the establishment of a hospital 
garden at that place ; the first of a series which the Army 
of the Cumberland owed to the Sanitary Commission, and 
which proved great blessings. 

On the 2oth of June Rosecrans again advanced, driving 
Bragg from his strong position at Tullahoma, and by a 
series of bloodless victories compelling him to evacuate the 
passes and strongholds which had been deemed impregna- 
ble, and to retreat across the Tennessee. By this movement 
the line of the Xashville and Chattanooga Kailroad, as far 
as Bridgeport, came under our control. Following the 
army in its advance, the Sanitary Commission established 
its Agencies successively at Tullahoma, Stevenson and 
Bridgeport, from which it disseminated an influence that 
was now not only felt and confessed, but abundantly blessed 
by the thousands who had experienced its charities. The 
subsequent operations of the Army of the Cumberland, 
during 1863, included Rosecrans' celebrated march across 
the Cumberland mountains, the occupation of Chattanooga, 
the defeat at Chickamauga, and the glorious TOtory in the 
battle of Chattanooga ; events which, from their magnitude 
and importance, require more exposition than can now be 



82 SAI^ITAEY COMMISSIOJf — WESTERN DEPAETMEKT. 

given tliem, and will be referred to again. Some idea of 
the nature and extent of tlie work of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion in the Army of the Cnmberland, dnring the spring and 
summer campaign of -1863, may be gained from the few 
quotations given below, taken from our voluminous records 
of that date. 

SCURVY IX THE ARMY ARRESTED BY VEGETABLES 
AKD PICKLES. 
[From the Sanitary Reporter, May 15, 1863.] 
Extract from Official Beport of F. H. Hamilton^ Medical Inspector V. S. Army. 

Through the United States Sanitary Commission the hospitals are now 
supplied to a moderate extent with veo'etables, especially potatoes and 
pickled cabbage. 

I scarcely visited a hospital in which they had not more or less of these 
articles in small quantities. By direction of Surgeon Perin, and under the 
especial auspices of the Sanitary Commission, about forty acres of excellent 
soil lying adjacent to the tield hospital are prepared for garden purposes. 

M. C. Read, Special Agent for the Sanitary Commission, has taken it 
under his immediate care, and supplied it with a great variety of the best 
vegetables, garden seeds and cuttings, and a large portion of it is already 
planted. If the season Is favorable, and the garden is not molested, it will 
prove of inestimable value to the soldiers in this and in other hospitals at 
Murfreesboro. ******** 

There were no fresh vegetables furnished to the troops, except what 
were obtained from the Sanitary Commission for the regimental hospitals. 
Nearly all the regiments have been without potatoes and onions, as a regu- 
lar issue, and not a few of these regiments have not had more than one or 
two issues of these vegetables in eight, ten or twelve months. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that scurvy is beginning to manifest itself 
throughout the army ; a few marked cases of which, perhaps two or three, 
may be found in most of the regiments. It is to me only a matter of sur- 
prise that it does not prevail to a much greater extent ; and that the men 
present, on the whole, so healthy and robust an appearance. I am very 
much afraid, however, that in a short period those signs of scorbutic taint 
will increase and extend, and especially if the men are subjected to any 
extraordiiuiry hardships in marching, on picket duty, or in the trenches; 
and tliat in the event of a battle, the wounds of those who now appear the 
most robust would not heal kindly. 

The season for vegetal)les and fruit is approacliing, but the army cannot 
look to the surrounding count'"y for a supply of these articles, since its 
nnml)ers are vastly disi)roi)ortioned to the amount of land which will be 
cultivated; and fruit trees do not at this time al)oun(l within tlie lines which 



SCtJHVY AERESTED. 83 

we command. There is, thereiore, in my judgment, a pressing demand for 
large and immediate supplies of potatoes and onions, and this demand will 
not cease for some months to come. These opinions have been expi-essed 
to the Medical Director of the Department, Surgeon Perin, who informed 
me that the Commissary was already receiving at the rate of one hundred 
barrels of potatoes per daj^, these supplies having commenced to arrive 
about the 1st of April; but on the 9th of April, the day before I left Mur- 
freesboro, many of the regiments had not received any potatoes. 

I am afraid this amount, therefore, Avill not be much more than sufficient 
to supply the demands of the officers, hospitals, etc., connected with the post. 

On my arrival at Nashville on the 11th, I represented these facts to Dr. 
A. N. Read, Sanitary Inspector of the Department of the Cumberland, 
whom I found already advised upon these matters by personal inspection, 
and who had already written upon the subject to Dr. J. S. N'ewberry, Secre- 
tary, and in charge of the Western Department of the Sanitary Commission, 
with head-quarters at Louisville. 

Shipments of vegetables commenced to be made more freelj'' under his 
order, on the 13th, from Louisville ; and on the same date Dr. N'ewberry 
writes : 

"There will be a succession of large shipments of vegetables for Eose- 
crans' army by railroad and by boat. The General Superintendent of Rail- 
roads, Mr. Anderson, has been requested by the Commander-in-Chief to 
forward promptly all the Commission can send ; therefore, let them go to 
the front as fast as possible.-' 

On the 14th of April Drs. Post and Gunn, Special Inspectors for the 
Sanitary Commission, having returned from Murfreesboro, confirmed the 
statements Dr. Read had already made, and we sent a joint telegram to Dr. 
Newberr:v-, requesting that the vegetables be sent forward as copiously as 
possible. On the same day Dr. Newberry replied by telegram to me : 

" Large shipments are being made daily. Yesterday I telegraphed Cin- 
cinnati, Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh for vegetables, and have reply 
that shipments will be at once made from there." 

On the IGth Dr. Read was at Murfreesboro, and one hundred and thirty 
barrels had just arrived from the Commission. It is my belief that, in 
respect to vegetables, the wants of the army at Murfreesboro and vicinity 
will now for a time at least be fully supplied. We do not think, however, 
that for this reason the Government Commissaries ought to relax their efforts 
to obtain potatoes, and in large quantities. As the resources of the Com- 
mission may soon be exhausted, or their contributions directed into other 
channels, too much prominence, we think, cannot be given to this matter. 

We ffiid, in the absence of vegetable diet, a cause for a great part of the 
mortality of our troops, both after the receipt of wounds and from disease. 
Indirectly it may account for suppuration, gangrene, pya3mia, erysipelas, 
diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, rheumatism, etc., and we fully believe that one 
barrel of potatoes per annum is to the Government equal to one man. I 
have omitted to state that in all the regimental hospitals, as well as general 
hospitals, I found the Sanitary Commission had already furnished them 



84 SA^^ITAKY COMMISSIOIi — WESTERK DEPARTMEl^T. 

with the vegetables the j'' had called for, and Avhich were needed for the sick, 
so that in the hospitals none were dying fj-om scurvj^ ; on the contrary, in 
ever}^ instance I fonnd them rapidly recovering. 

I would respectfully suggest that, for the season of the year when neither 
fresh potatoes nor onions can be furnished to our armies, they should be 
supplied with pickled onions and cabbage; also, potatoes cut in slices and 
packed in molasses, as is the practice with sailors ; the potatoes to be eaten 
raw. 

ACTION OF THE OHIO LEGISLATURE. 

From tlie moment when a strong wave of popular sym- 
pathy with the sick and suffering soldier began to rise, 
sharp and greed}^ politicians sought to make it subservient 
to their purposes ; to mount upon its crest, hoping thus to 
ride into power. From Governors Dennison, of Ohio, Yates, 
of Illinois, Blair, of Michigan, Harvey and Solomon, of 
Wisconsin, and Stone, of Iowa — liberal and unselhsh men — 
the Sanitary Commission experienced no opposition, and 
they on many occasions proved themselves its warm friends. 
With the subsequent Governors of Ohio, and the Governor 
of Indiana, we had a different experience. In their efforts 
to become the almoners of the bounty of their States, and 
for selfish purposes to direct that bounty to the exclusive 
beneht of the volunteers of these States, they necessarily 
came in conliict with an organization so national and catholic 
in its spirit as ours, and from this cause a hostility was 
engendered toward the Sanitary Commission, which con- 
tinued to the close of the war. To meet the first exhibition 
of State pride in Ohio, early in the winter of 1862-3, Dr. 
Read and myself went to Columbus, and, upon invitation 
from the Legislature, spc^nt an evening in giving to both 
Houses, in the Senate Chamber, an exposition of the plan 
and workings of the Sanitary Commission. In the February 
folh)wing, tli(^ question came u]) in the Ohio Legislature as 
to wliat should be done* in th(^ way of sui)])]ementary aid to 
the Ohio volunteers then in the fi(^ld. Tlie committee to 
wliich tlie subject was referred, through its chairman, the 



ACTION OF THE OHIO LEGISLATUEE. 85 

Hon. W. p. Sprague, addressed an official letter to me, 
asking for definite information as to what tlie Sanitary 
Commission was doing toward this end. In reply, the letter 
which forms Sanitary Commission Document 'No. 64 was 
written. This contained a brief description of our organiza- 
tion as it then existed, and some proofs of the success 
which had attended our efforts. The result of this inquiiy 
may be learned from the following resolutions : 

RESOLUTIONS PASSED BY THE OHIO LEGISLATURE, 

April 13, 1863. 

The Committee on Military Affairs, liaving been requested to examine 
into and report upon the manner in which the contributions of the people 
for the comfort of the sick and wounded soldiers have been sent to the 
army, made a thorough investigation of the matter, with a view to see if 
any legislation was necessary to insure greater promptness and safety in the 
transmission of these goods. The committee report that, though at first 
there was delay, and some loss and misapplication of articles sent, there is 
now no cause for attempting any change, the business being so well done by 
the Sanitary Commission. The following preambles and resolutions, drawn 
by Mr. Sprague, were unanimously adopted : 

Whei^eas, The assiduous and unremitting efforts of the ladies of this 
State, in the preparation of clothing, hospital stores and other comforts for 
the army, have resulted most happily in relieving a vast amount of suffering, 
and contributed largely to ameliorate the hardships to which our brave 
soldiers are exposed while in arms, battling for the preservation of the 
Government; and 

Whereas, The Sanitary Commission, an organization instituted and 
designed as an agency for transmitting to the army in a more efiicient, 
economical and direct manner such articles as may be contributed by the 
benevolent for the comfort of our soldiers, has proven to be a valuable 
auxiliary to the Government in the accomplishment of this purpose; and 

Whereas, These kind offices on the part of our people, either in their 
Individual or associate capacity, have been so important to the service as to 
be altogether indispensable, and are performed voluntarilj-, generously and 
without recompense other than that which flows from the consciousness of 
doing a kind action, and merit at the hands of this body a public recognition ; 
therefore : 

Besolved by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That the thanks of 
this body are due and are hereby tendered to the ladies of our State, as 
individuals or in their associate capacity as Soldiers' Aid Societies or other- 
wise, for their laudable and most praiseworthy eftbrts in relief of the wants 
and necessities of our patriotic soldiers ; that the energy and self-sacriticing 



S6 SAI^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

devotion manifested bj^ this class of onr citizens are worthy of and do receive 
our highest admiration; that the importance of this work is such that we 
would sincerelj^ deplore any decline in the zeal and determination which 
have hitherto so eminently distinguished this movement, until the want that 
exists shall be fully met and satisfied ; and in the name of thousands of noble 
and patriotic men who are exposed to hardships, toils and perils, in main- 
taining our cherished institutions, we solicit continued exertions in their 
behalf. 

Eesoli-cd, That in the Sanitary Commission we recognize an institution 
eminently qualified to accomplish the object had in view in its organization, 
to Mit: to be an auxiliary to the Government, supplementing its ettbrts in 
providing for the comfort ot the army, by procuring and transmitting 
delicacies and medical stores for the sick, clothing and provisions for the 
needy, and whatever else is calculated to soothe, to comfort and to bless ; 
which undertakes as a kind friend and companion to follow the soldier in 
his marches, administering to him. in sickness or health, the bounty of his 
friends or of a benevolent public ; cheering, consoling and sustainmg him 
when the shock of battle has left him wounded and fainting upon the field; 
as an angel of mercy appearing to remove him to a place of shelter, where 
his wounds maybe dressed and remedies applied for his recovery; or, if 
death at once should close his suftering and existence, to insure him a decent 
and respectful burial ; if disabled in battle or broken in health, requiring 
his dischai-ge from the service, far from friends and destitute of means, which 
volunteers to furnish him advice and assistance, and to provide him, in the 
Soldiers' Home, a resting place until he can be safely conveyed to his family 
and friends. We can but admire the humane and generous spirit which 
prompted and sustained this movement, and deem it proper to extend to all 
who co-operate in this noble undertaking the well-earned tribute of the 
thanks of this General Assembly for the zeal, energy and good results 
which have attended its prosecution in the past, and most cordially com- 
mend it to the kind consideration and confidence of the public, in the hope 
that its good fruits in the future may be even more abundant. 

Besoh'cd, That the Governor be requested to transmit copies of these 
preambles and resolutions to the several Soldiers' Aid Societies and Branches 
of the Sanitary Commission in this State. 

From various causes, among wlncli, doubtless, the most 
potent was the influence and efficiency of the Branches of 
the Comnnssion located within her borders, the "State 
Riglits" ])oli('y liad little success in Ohio. At least nine- 
tentlis of lier conti'il)uti()ns passed througli the hands of 
tlie Sanitaiy Commissicjn, and were distributed among the 
soldiers of our army without other discrimination than this : 
that the most needy were considered the most worthy. 



THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGK. 87 

In Indiana the inflnence of the State government was 
more potent, and most of the contributions of that State 
were issued by agents of the Governor to Indiana troops. 
Aside from the theoretical injustice of such partiality, this 
method of distribution was productive of many practical 
evils. Our records show that the troops from Indiana 
•received from the Sanitary Commission as freely as did 
those from any other State, and requisitions from Indiana 
surgeons were always as promptly honored as any others; 
while the contributions from their own State, held selfishly 
for the use of Indiana troops, frequently duplicated our 
issues, and went to men who needed them far less tlian 
those from neighboring States, who were fighting under the 
same flag, for a common cause, and had shared a common 
fate. 

THE VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGN. 

As has been before stated, an Agency of the Sanitary 
Commission was established at Memphis, Tenn., in October, 
1862 ; Dr. R. C. Hopkins in charge. Dr. Warriner was 
then at Columbus, Ky. , which was the base of supplies for 
most of our army in West Tennessee. In the latter part 
of December the Mobile and Ohio Railroad was destroyed 
by the rebels, and a change of base became necessary for 
us, as for the army. The Mississippi District was then 
organized. Dr. Warriner was placed at the head of it, and 
about the 1st of January he transferred his head-quarters, 
his assistants and stock of goods, to Memphis. A large 
number of troops had, previous to this time, been gathered 
into this District, under the command of General Sherman. 
On the 29th of December, the first step in the series of 
operations which resulted in the capitulation of Yicksburg, 
was taken in the unsuccessful attack at Chickasaw Bayou. 
On the 18th of January our forces occupied Youngs' Point 



88 SAl^ITAEY COMMISSION — WESTEKN" DEPARTMENT. 

and Milliken's Bend; follomng tliem, the Sanitary Commis- 
sion soon established itself there on a floating depot formed 
by a barge assigned by General Grant to Dr. G. L. Andrew, 
who temporarily took Dr. Warriner' s place when the latter 
was called to Louisville by the illness and death of his 
wife. Mrs. AVarriner died of small pox, which she took at 
Memphis, where she had been for some time staying with 
her husband. She was young, attractiye in person and 
character, and just on the eve of becoming a mother. The 
blow was a terrible one to Dr. Warriner, and was another 
sacrifice made by him to the Sanitary Commission ; as, but 
for her going to Memphis, where the disease was so preva- 
lent, she would, in all probability, have been now living. I 
have before referred to the death of Dr. Hopkins, and I 
should also include in this mortuaiy record the name of 
Mr. J. G. Young, of Iowa, one of our agents and an excel- 
lent man, who during the Yicksburg campaign succumbed 
to the effects of the poisonous atmosphere from which all 
our agents on the Mississippi suffered serious illness. 

The position occupied by our army at Milliken' s Bend 
made the need of supplementary aid as great as at any time 
during the war. It proved, however, that the interests of 
the Sanitary Commission were in good hands, and Dr. War- 
riner displayed, in the performance of the great amount of 
duty devolving upon the Chief Inspector of the District, 
msdom and energy worthy of all praise. This commenda- 
tion sliould also be shared, as were the labors and trials of 
tlie position, by his corps of able assistants, whose names 
have been mentioned. Fortunately, supplies could be 
floated without difficulty or danger to this point, and 
foituiiatcly again, l)y the reoi'ganization of the Chicago 
Brancli Conmiission its efficiency was greatly increased, and 
large additions wcic made through its contributions to the 
i<'S()Ui('<'s of I)i'. Wniiinri'. A su])ply steamer, furnished 



89 

the Commission by General Grant, was kept constantly 
running. Taking at Cincinnati and Louisville the contri- 
butions of Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Colum- 
bus and Cincinnati, and receiving at Cairo hundreds of tons 
supplied bj the Chicago Branch, she went to the army 
before Yicksburg freighted to the guards. The following 
quotations from the reports of our agents will illustrate the 
work done at Youngs' Point and Milliken' s Bend at this 
period in our history : 

DR. WAREINEE'S EEPOET. 

[From the Sanitary. Reporter.] 

Milliken's Bexd, La., May 4, 1863. 
I have watched ^dth much interest the movement of these 
troops. It is characterized bv most active energy. Most of the 
tents are left behind, as are also the men who are not strong enough 
to endure an exhausting and desperate campaign. Supplies in 
anything approaching sufficient quantity cannot be conveyed to the 
front by any existing method. Foraging is too precarious, of 
course, to be relied upon long, and desperate fighting is inevitable. 
Yesterday the news of a vigorous battle at Grrand G-ulf, Miss., on 
Saturday, came to hand. I see no escape from a series of such, 
augmenting in fierceness and intensity, until the question is decided 
as to who shall hold the river through the ensuing summer. This, 
with the increase of disease that will keep pace with the advancing 
season, may, and possibly will, develop a great amount of sickness, 
and the thought that is pressing most upon me is how to meet this 
suffering with some approximation to an equivalent relief I beg, 
therefore, that you consider this letter as chiefly a requisition for 
stores. * * * * Potatoes may be made useful for a month 
yet, perhaps, but it would be pre-eminently serviceable to the army 
and the cause we represent, if all supplies, for a while, could be 
confined to a few articles, and these to be furnished in abundance. 
For instance, condensed milk, concentrated beef, soda crackers, 
green tea, codfish, crushed sugar, dried fruit, canned fruit, lemons 
(if practicable), farina, barley, and ale. I mention these in the 
order, as near as I can do it, of their importance, availability, and 
scarcity in our store-rooms. * * * * :j< * * 



90 SAXITART COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

Better than fail to have for the coming eniergeucY — or shall I 
say the emergency already at hand — an ample supply of the first 
four articles named, it would be well to inyest all spare funds in 
them to the exclusion of eyerything else. One after another the 
agents of the Sanitary Commission giye out in their physical yigor. 
I manage to keep up a moderate condition of health — don't feel 
cpiite the normal amount, howeyer ; my assistants here, ditto. * * 

I haye turned oyer to the Purveyor seyen hundred and sixty- 
eight cans condensed milk for shipment to the front. * * * 'j^- 

There is a uniyersal scarcity of milk and butter here. The latter 
would not remain sweet long. Eggs would be immensely seryiceable 
could they be enyelo|)ed in some substance, gum arable, for instance, 
which vrould exclude the air. Would it not be possible to haye a 
few barrels put up in this way — or rather ^good many barrels. * * 

YouxGs' PoiXT, La., May 18,, 1863. 

Seyeral hotly contested battles haye already occurred. The one 
that resulted in the capture of Jackson. Miss., by our forces, was 
especially seyere. Xot less than eight hundred were killed. Apply- 
ing the ordinary rule as to the relatiye number wounded, there 
cannot be much less than two thousand of these, besides a large 
number from the ranks of the enemy. Previous to this battle I 
had receiyed reports from surgeons at Grand Gulf that fiye hundred 
wounded had accumulated there. Yesterday firing was heard here 
all day, artillery and musketry. It was not incessant, but at times 
was rapid and heayy. The direction seemed to be southeast from 
Vicksburg; distance not exactly calculable. I have just inquired at 
head-quarters the meaning and upshot of it. Xo report has yet 
reached them in regard to it. I learned meantime that the purpose 
is to bring the wounded here and sliij) tliem north as rapidly as 
possible. An instalhnent of several hundred is expected in to-mor- 
row. They will 1)e brought on boats to the lower end of the new 
road — the road running from this point to tlie river, twelve miles or 
so below Vicksburg — thence by wagons and ambulances here. The 
boats taking them hence will have occasion to make heavy drafts 
upon us for stores ; and I shall make an efifort to send to the front 
by return teams more or less stores for those who will not be favored 
with immediate transi)ortation. 



HAIJfES' BLUFF. 91 

The convalescents at Milliken's Bend at my last Tvriting have 
all, excepting those at Van Bnren hospital, been removed to this 
point. They number nearly five thousand. About ten per cent, are 
under medical treatment. A heavy percentage of the rest will soon 
go forward to their regiments, and the remainder be occupied with 
light duties. All are doing well, and are fully supplied with most 
of the needful comforts of camp and hospital. 

Stores for special regiments and individuals continue to arrive, 
in spite of the express orders of General Grant forbidding it. They 
all come to me for storage. I do my utmost to avoid being offensive 
in my refusals, and usually succeed in making some compromise 
that is satisfactory. 

Haixes' Bluff, May 27, 1863. 

* * * I have at last reached a point of communication 
with the main army. Haines' Bluff was abandoned by the enemy 
when it became certain that Vicksburg would be speedily invested 
by our enterprising army. Eoads have been opened up, and properly 
guarded from here to the lines, and supplies of all kinds are pouring 
along the route with the utmost activity. I had the Sanitar}' wharf- 
boat moved to this place from Youngs^ Point five days ago. Our ample 
supplies were already reduced by the convalescents and hospitals, 
but we have enough left to keep all hands busy. I have been out 
to the front since arriving here, making a hurried inspection of the 
general condition of the army and of the wounded. * * * * 

The condition of the field hospitals is vastly better than I antici- 
pated. And now that all manner of supplies, or at least such 
supplies as the army gets at any point, are fairly accessible, there 
should be no special hardships, so long as they remain in their 
present condition. This location is remarkably fine and apparently 
healthy. The whole army occupies the summits and slopes of the 
steep, high ridges that surround the city in an irregularly crescentic 
form ****5H*>!<5HH«*4i 

The morale of the army is pronounced, by those who have the 
best opportunity of knowing, excellent. The same is true as to its 
sanitary condition. All that I saw or heard during my rapid visit 
confirmed the general view in both respects. It is indeed not a little 
remarkable that the health and vigor of the troops should have been 
kept up to so high a pitch through such adverse circumstances. 
Scarcely a man in the whole army has a change of clothing with 



92 SAXITARY COMMISSION" — WESTER2S" DEPARTMEI^T. 

liim of any description; and the rations furnished by the Govern- 
ment during the last five weeks have been confined to hard bread, 
salt pork, and cofiee, and not full rations at that. But this supply 
of food has been supplemented to no inconsiderable extent with 
fresh meat, chickens, corn meal, molasses, and small quantities of 
various luxuries captured on the way. The distribution, mean- 
while, of this class of stores, has been exceedingly unequal, and 
instances of great hardship are numerous. The extreme rear of the 
army continues still to forage with some success. The main force is 
wholly dependent upon supplies furnished here. All the hospitals 
lack stimulants very much. Potatoes are still a great rarity in the 

We have issued about seven hundred barrels of vegetables since 
my arrival here, and are now completely out of them. All other 
articles of diet have run low, and we shall soon be destitute, pro- 
vided, of course, the " Dunleith " does not reach us loaded down. 
[Three boat loads received afterwards. — Ed.] I trust she will bring 
us speedily the articles mentioned in a former report, and in great 
profusion. They are such as the Government furnishes but scantily, 
and with accustomed tardiness. * * * * * * * 

AFFAIRS AT HELENA. 
[From the Sanitary Reporter.] 

Helena, Ark., June 1, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Sir — * * * Although constantly threatening this 
post, the rebels have not yet succeeded in taking possession of it. 
During the month of May our scouts have three times encountered 
the enemy. In two instances Ave suffered serious losses : at one time 
in killed four, wounded ten, captured thirty ; on the other occasion 
there were seven killed, twelve wounded and twenty captured. 

At the present date there are of sick and wounded in the gen- 
eral and regimental hospitals six hundred and fifty-five patients ; 
the number of deaths during the month was ninety-eight. The 
number of patients in the small-pox hospital has been reduced 
within the last three weeks from thirty to twelve. About the 1st of 
May the post hospital was converted into a general hospital. I make 
it a point to visit both the general and regimental hospitals once a 



AIFAIES AT HELEXA. 93 

week, and make informal inspections with reference to their sanitary 
condition and wants. I also make frequent inspection of the town 
and its immediate surroundings, reporting to the proper authorities 
all nuisances which require removal — and their name is legion — 
adding such suggestions as may be deemed necessary •• to promote 
the health, comfort and efficiency of our army,"' and I am happy to 
say that a practical response is generally given. In this and other 
respects the Commission is, I trust, the means of great good to the 
soldiers here located. 

A much larger stock of Sanitary stores than has fallen to the 
share of this post could be yery advantageously used. * =J^ * 
EespectfuUy, your obedient servant, W:m. Fithiax. 

On the SOtli of April General Grant crossed the Missis- 
sippi below Yicksburg. and made Ms famons advance into 
the interior, fighting the battles of Port Gibson and Cham- 
pion Hills, severing the communications between Yicksburg 
and its source of supplies, and closely investing that city. 
On the 19th and 22d of May the Union forces assaulted the 
fortifications, but were repulsed with heavy loss. The 
siege then began which terminated in the ca^^itulation on 
July 4th. 

The duties required of Cxrant* s forces during the month 
of May were of the severest description, and the battles in 
which they were engaged, though resulting in victory for 
the Union cause, were attended ^^dth heavy loss. The 
number of wounded and disabled men resulting fi'om this 
campaign was so large, and tlieii' wants were such, as to 
call for prompt measures of relief on the part of the Sani- 
tary Commission and all others who could afford supple- 
mentary aid to the army. Meetings were held in several 
of the Western cities, when large contributions, both of 
money and materials, were called out by the emergency. 
At such a meeting in Louisville, over six thousand dollars 
in cash were raised at once and placed in my hands for 
expenditure. The ''Jacob Strader,'' one of the finest boats 



94 SANITARY COMMISSION — AVESTERK DEPARTMEKT. 

on tlie Ohio, was cliartered and loaded with ice, vegetables, 
fruits, garments, and such other things as were suited to the 
wants of the sick and wounded, and sent down in charge of 
Dr. G. L. Andrew, one of our ablest and most experienced 
Inspectors, assisted by fifteen surgeons and attendants. The 
other Branches of the Commission acted with equal prompt- 
ness. The Cincinnati Branch fitted out a fine steamer, the 
"Alice Dean," mth seven hundred packages of stores and 
a full corps of surgeons and nurses. Cleveland sent five 
hundred packages ; Pittsburgh five hundred ; and the Chi- 
cago Branch had a still larger contribution ready for the 
' ' Strader ' ' on her arrival at Cairo. Buffalo, Detroit, Colum- 
bus and New Albany each contributed its quota to swell 
the tide of benevolence which flowed toward Yicksburg. 

But little w^as done by this voluntary effort for the 
removal of the sick and wounded, as the floating hospitals 
provided by the Government were now sufficient to perform 
most of this kind of duty required, but the supplies then 
carried down were of inestimable value. The casualties of 
the campaign were less numerous than had been anticipated, 
but the climate, the season and the local influences which 
affected the health of our troops were such as to call into 
requisition every effort we could make in their behalf, and 
all the great supply of stores we were able to furnish. 

On the 1st of June we found that we had transported 
to the Army of the Tennessee, during the five months 
preceding, eleven thousand nine hundred and twenty-six 
packages of stores ; to the Army of the Cumberland in the 
same time we had sent eight thousand three hundred pack- 
ages. None but those who received these contributions or 
those who witnessed their distribution can appreciate their 
value or estimate the evils they averted. 

By tlie capture of Yicksburg the Mississippi was opened, 
and we wer(^ able to send agents and stores below, until they 



DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI. 95 

met those forwarded from New Orleans. In our division of 
this field all points below Natchez were left to be supplied 
by Dr. Blake, Chief Inspector of the Department of the 
Gulf, while we planted Agencies at Natchez, Duval' s Bluff, 
and later at Little Rock, from which stores continued to be 
issued to the close of the war. 

When Yicksburg was taken. Dr. Warriner entered with 
the army, and secured fine rooms, where a depot was 
established, from which a large amount of supplies con- 
tinued to be distributed, as long as any portion of the army 
remained in the vicinity. Aside from our own sick and 
wounded, who accumulated in large numbers at Yicksburg, 
all the disabled of the rebel garrison were left on our 
hands, and their necessities were ministered to as far as our 
obligations to our own men would permit. There were also 
gathered at Yicksburg many thousand negroes, who were in 
circumstances of great destitution, and among whom were 
so many sick that a large hospital was opened for their care. 
This also was liberally supplied from the stores of the Sani- 
tary Commission. Full details of the work at Yicksburg 
are given in the following quotations from our Reports : 

Department of the Tennessee, 
Up the Yazoo, near Yicksburg, June 23, 1863. 
De. J. S. Newbeert, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission^ Louisville: 

The number of sick in the field in the rear of Yicksburg, 
including the wounded not yet removed, is a trifle less than 
three thousand. Not over one-third of these are serious cases. 

The three corps hospitals are now in operation and fairly fur- 
nished with the equipments, conveniences and supplies appropriate 
to general hospitals. There are besides eleven division hospitals, 
all in good condition relatively; in fact, their condition in all 
respects is unusually good for the field. Eegimental hospitals are 
kept up, but the severer cases are chiefly sent to one of the other 
two classes. The three hospital transports continue active in the 
removal of patients northward. ***** 



96 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

The steamer " City of Alton " left witli me eight half-barrels 
ale, two casks codfish (one thousand pounds in all), one barrel but- 
ter, and twenty-eight sacks dried apples (one hundred and thirty 
pounds to the sack), all in excellent condition and very welcome. 
Since then five hundred barrels of potatoes have arrived from 
Memphis, brought to that point from Cairo by the " Dunleith." The 
potatoes arrived four days since. They are all issued to-day. I have 
given them freely to troops in camp as well as hospital, as I have 
done by previous lots since being here. It is impossible to preserve 
large quantities of them for hospital consumption exclusively. 
Besides, their value to the well is incomputable. No happier hit 
has been made by the generous North than the sending of a surplus 
of vegetables to this army. They have done a vast amount of good, 
and elicited the liveliest expressions of gratitude toward the numer- 
ous donors and the organization through whose instrumentality 
they were procured. The service rendered by the Sanitary Com- 
mission and Western Sanitary Commission since the arrival of the 
army in its present position, in assisting- to supply hospitals with 
needed comforts, has been signally important and more than ordina- 
rily appreciated. It would be no ordinary pleasure to me to be able 
to convey to the givers of these good gifts even a glimpse of the 
radiantly grateful looks I encounter in the hospitals from day to 
day, from those whom their gifts have blessed. A thousand times 
over I hear the expression, "I wonder if they know how much good 
they are doing.*' / wonder too. Unquestionably, the wide-spread 
labors of the Commission, through its numerous Branches and 
coadjutors, were never so pervasively and thoroughly appreciated as 
now ; and this, it is not to be overlooked, is partly, perhaps largely, 
du3 to the proximate success of the efforts to combine and systema- 
tize these labors. I may be regarded as an interested witness in 
this particular, but I certainly have the best possible opportunity to 
see and judge of the relative value of the two methods of distribu- 
ting stores ; which may be designated the systematic and spasmodic. 
And I find it difficult to express my appreciation of the one, and 
my abhorrence of the other. Not an agent of the spasmodic class 
has been sent hither but has expressed to me spontaneously, after 
tarrying a few days, and Avith some enthusiasm, his convictions of the 
superiority of system. I spend no more time arguing the question. 
I point to work and results. They are patent and beginning to be 



UP THE YAZOO. 97 

known of all men. I must mention in this connection the highest 
official compliment I have hitherto received at the hands of the 
military authorities. It consists of one hundred tons of Goveru- 
ment ice turned over to me for distribution. I asked General Grant. 
a few days since, for a barge and towage for the same, pledging him 
that the Sanitary Commission would load the barge with ice. He 
promptly acceded to my request. On returning to the landing I 
found the above cargo just arrived. Thinking perhaps that it 
would be unnecessary expense on the part of the Commission to 
purchase more ice immediately, I did nothing further about it. 
Day before yesterday an order came putting the cargo into my 
hands. This, together with nearly or quite as large a quantity in 
the hands of the Purveyor, makes the present supply abundant. 

Our issues have been very large for the last month in all articles 
and items. The effect for good has been commensurate with the 
activity of our issues. 

Complaints of the misuse of stores grow less fi'equent and more 
mythical. I make it a point to follow up every instance of it 
reported to me, and generally find accusation and accuser vanishing 
out of reach before the investigation is concluded. And where I 
find it otherwise, competent authority is prompt in arresting the 
evil. I am disposed to think that the amount of Avaste occurring 
in this manner is too unimportant to deserve farther consideration. 
I have been occupied for the last week with such inspections as 
circumstances would permit of the troops engaged in the trenches. 
They are all clustered in the ravines and on the slopes of the hills 
descendiug /)'o??z the city. A portion of the line now rests on the 
very slopes crested by the rebel works. The air in the ravines is 
most of the time still, hot and stifling. They live half buried in 
the ground for protection against the missiles of the enemy. The 
springs on the slopes and toward the summits of the hills begin to 
flag, and the principal dependence is now upon the water in the 
bottoms of the ra^-ines. This naturally grows more and more 
impure from the drainage of extensive camping grounds, besides 
growing gradiially less in quantity. In short, the surroundings of 
a large force thus situated and occupied are decidedly unsanitary. 
No one expects this state of things to continue many days longer, 
however, and as the regiments are successively relieved from time to 
time, no considerable mischief has yet resulted from it. On the 
7 



98 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

other liaud, sickness is increasing slowly, especially intermittent 
fever and its allied ailments. This increase does not confine itself 
to troops in the trenches. It is doubtless in part but the consum- 
mation of effects that have been daily preparing from the com- 
mencement of the campaign. The excitement which has held the 
entire army up to such a key of resistance for these many "weeks as 
to enable it to cope with both visible and invisible foes, is slightly on 
the decline. The men are sure of their prey. Xobody doubts for 
a moment the result. Xo one expresses discontent or discourage- 
ment. Add to this the fact that an abnormal tension of brain and 
nerve must of necessity exhaust itself at length, and one almost 
wonders that the keen edge held so long. Men obey orders now 
vrith a patient rather than an exultant courage. An order to storm 
would change this suddenly enough, but meanwhile malaria and 
rather unwholesome lodgings and unwholesome water (in many 
cases) are beginning to show their legitimate effects. I could not 
but notice that the men in the rifle pits and at work on the 
entrenchments wore a slightly jaded look, and were stimulated by 
their momentous and perilous labors barely enough to exercise the 
necessary caution for their own protection. All the points now 
worked by our forces are swept by the bullets of the enemy's sharp- 
shooters. Every step of our advance is along trenches and covered 
ways. Entire protection is of course impossible. I should judge 
(although it is partly guessing) that fifty men or so are wounded 
daily. I went into the fort nearest the enemy's works. It is a trifle 
less than fifty yards distant. A hurricane of bullets swept over our 
heads incessantly, but no one at that time had been wounded there. 
The rebels are throwing shell mucli of the time from two mortars 
located so far behind their outer works as to baffle all attempts to 
dismantle or silence them. These shells do relatively little harm, as 
they appear to be thrown utterly at random. Tliey fly for the most 
part completely over our line, into the neighborhood of hospitals 
and head-quarters. I have heard of but few casualties produced by 
them, and have witnessed but one. Hospitals that were annoyed 
by them have been removed to points of safety. 

Yours truly, 

H. A. Warrixer, 

Sanitary Inspector. 



THE STEAMER DUIS^LEITH. 99 

The kind of duty performed by the Supply Steamer may 
be inferred from tlie following report of the supercargo : 

Sanitary Steamer '-Duxleith," 

Cairo, June 12, 1863. 
Dr. J. 8. Dewberry : 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — The "Dimleith" left Cairo on Monday, June 1st, at 
two o'clock in the morning, on her fifth trip in the service of the 
Sanitary Commission. Arrived in Memphis early Tuesday morn- 
ing, stopping only twice between Cairo and Memphis — to report 
at Columbus, Ky., and to deliver Sanitary stores at Island ]^o. 10. 
Arrived at Youngs' Point at four o'clock in the afternoon, Friday, 
the 5th, where I met the " Strader," and communicated with Dr. 
Andrew. Stopping only a few moments at Youngs' Point, we left 
for Chickasaw Bayou, where we arrived at dusk. Next morning, 
taking Dr. Warriner on board, we started on a purveying cruise,* 
with the intention of visiting all the general hospitals in the 
vicinity. Our first visit was to the floating hospital " J^ashville," 
which is now lying in the "chute" of Paw Paw Island, about 
midway between Youngs' Point and Milliken's Bend. This hos- 
pital, at the time of our visit, had only four hundred and twenty- 
four patients, but they were expecting to fill up that day to their 
fullest capacity, which, as you know, is seven hundred and fifty 
beds. Our arrival there was very timely, as the steward was just 
starting for Chickasaw Bayou for supplies. We left them seventy- 
five bushels of potatoes, and a fine lot of lemons, condensed milk, 
butter, eggs, etc. 

After finishing our errand at the "Nashville," we started for 



* Hoepital stores issued by the United States Sanitary Commission at Vickeburg during 
the months of May, June, July and August, 1863: 

Comforts, 2,729; pillows, 4,357; pillowcases, 6,511; sheets, 9,029 ; bed sacks, 1,121; shirts, 
12,168 ; drawers, 9,732 pairs ; towels and handkerchiefs, 13,830 ; dressing gowns, 746 ; socks, 
4,218 pairs ; slippers, 1,504 pairs ; groceries, 2,360 pounds ; wine and spirits, 2,833 bottles ; 
butter, 5,837 pounds; apple butter, 30 gallons; eggs, 2,476 dozen; pickles and krout, 7,941 
gallons ; potatoes, 7,496 bushels ; onions, 150 bushels ; molasses, 85 gallons ; ale and cider, 
3,139 gallons ; ice, 47,367 pounds ; crackers, 26,517 pounds ; codfish, 13,593 pounds ; cornmeal, 
17,041 pounds ; tea, 1,577 pounds ; relishes, 662 bottles ; lemons, 25,500 ; hospital furniture, 
2,232 articles ; fans, 4,705 ; crutches, 65 pairs ; cots and mattresses, 199 ; spices, 2,690 papers ; 
farina and arrowroot, 225 pounds ; sago and pearl barley, 2,022 pounds ; corn starch, 822 
pounds; rags and bandages, 12,830 pounds; canned fruit, 7,330 cans; dried fruit, 45,402 
pounds; concentrated beef, 4,521 pounds; concentrated milk, 10,282 pounds; dried beef, 
1,496 pounds ; and many thousands of minor articles of hospital supplies. 



100 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Millikeu's Bend, to supply the Van Buren and other hospitals at 
that point. We had scarcely got a quarter of a mile from the 
''Nashyille" when we were turned back by a courier from Milli- 
keu's Bend, vrho informed us of an attack on that point by a 
considerable force of rebels, with four pieces of artillery. As there 
was no gunboat there, I concluded not to set up the " Dunleith" 
as a target for them, and so dropped back to Youngs' Point, and 
finally returned in the evening to Chickasaw Bayou. There we 
discharged eyerything except the supplies for the Van Buren hos- 
pital, and returned once more to Youngs' Point for coal. Com- 
menced coaling at daybreak, (Sunday, 7th,) and at ten o'clock in 
the forenoon were ready to start up the river. Meanwhile, the 
news from Millikeu's Bend was so mixed that we held off until 
noon. Then the news came that a rebel force was approaching 
Youngs' Point, and all boats were ordered to leave the landing. 
So we concluded that, rather than be penned up in the Yazoo for 
a day or two more, we would run the blockade, and accordingly 
started up the river. Van Buren hospital is located at the foot of 
the Bend, about two miles below the scene of the battle. Arriving 
at the hospital, we landed and found that the gunboats which 
went up in the morning had driven the rebels back to the woods, 
and that there was nothing to hinder our passing safely. Van 
Buren hospital has now seventeen hundred patients, mostly conva- 
lescents and slightly wounded. We left them a very fine supply of 
stores, including two hundred and eighty-five bushels of potatoes, 
two hundred and fifty pounds of condensed milk, three boxes of 
lemons, four hundred pounds of codfish, two hundred pounds of 
butter, one hundred and fifty dozen eggs, etc. 

Kespectfully yours, H. W. Fogle. 

SELECTIONS FROM TESTIMONIALS 

Spontaneouely awarded to the Sanitary Commission, for services rendered in the Vicksburg 

Campaign. 

HOSl'lTAL Fol'KTKKNTII DIVISION, THIRTEENTH ArMY CORPS, 

Near Vicksiu rg, June 20, LS68. 
1)K. II. A. Warriner, 

y\(;feni U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Sir— In Ixilnilf of more than four hundred wounded men treated in this 
hospital s^inee the sieg:e of Vicksbur«i^, and as many sick men prostrated by 
exposuie and fati<>:ue, I hereby express their thaid^s Jind gratitude for the 
indis))en.sable ««:oods with wliich you have supi)lied them. When 1 have 
told them I have got from you ice, dried and canned fruits, lemons, spirits, 



MOEE TESTIMOI^IALS. 101 

shirts, drawers, slippers, sheets, bed ticks, etc., to make them comfortable, 
some of them have said, "God bless the Commission!" others would say, 
"good;" and others would use the very expressive phrase, "bully!" 

I have been in the service nearly two years, and am glad to say our 
sick were never so well cared for as now ; and it is due to you to say that 
we are indebted almost exclusively to the United States Sanitary Commis- 
sion for the means of making them comfortable. 

I take the liberty of making these observations, because I have been 
employed by this hospital to procure of you these supplies. May God put 
it into the hearts of the friends of the soldiers to keep you well supplied. 

Yours respectfully, 

H. J. Eddy, 

Ghaplain Thirty-Third IJUnois Infantry. 

McPherson Hospital, Seventeenth Army Corps, 
Department Tennessee, June 18, 1863. 
Dr. Warriner, 

Agent U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — I have just received six loads of Sanitary supplies for the 
sick and wounded of this hospital. They were much needed and gratefully 
received. They supplied a want that could not otherwise have been met. 

In behalf of the sick and wounded soldiers, allow me to present to the 
Commission their heartfelt thanks and high appreciation of their well 
directed efforts in this noble enterprise. Yours is a noble and patriotic 
calling. Many a family circle will be made to rejoice, and many a poor 
soldier will be indebted to the care and great labor bestowed on the army 
by the Commission, for his life. Many a prayer will be offered in years to 
come, for blessings to descend upon those now engaged in this good work. 

May God bless and prosper you in your philanthropic enterprise, and 
prosper the right, is the wish of those whom you have bountifully supplied. 
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Geo. R. Weeks, Surgeon U. S. V., 

In charge. 

Field Hospital, Third Division, Seventeenth Army Corps, 
Rear of Vicksburg, June 16, 1863. 
Dr. Warriner, 

U. S. Sanitary Commission Boat, Chickasaw Bayou, Miss.: 
Doctor— Many, many thanks we all send you, and through you to the 
noble ladies of Ohio — God bless them! — for the liberal supply of sheets. 
shirts, drawers, pillow slips, comforts, fruits, and everything else you have 
so freely sent us. Without these I know not what we should have done. 

Crossing the Mississippi, as this whole army did, with transportation 
cut down, as ours of necessity was, to just enough to carry rations and 
ammunition, the prospect was anything but a cheering one to the medical 
officer, looking forward to the time when many of his charoe must neces- 
sarily become sick from long and wearisome marches, and many more get 
wounded in battle. 



102 SAXITART C0:M MISSION — WESTERX DEPARTMEJ^T. 

The battles of Thompson's Hill. Eaymond. Jackson and Champion's 
Hill more than exhausted the limited supplies of regimental surgeons, so 
that, had it not been for the Sanitary Commission, who met our victorious 
army as we arrived at Haines* Bluff, the sufferings of our wounded at the 
siege of Yicksburg would have been far greater than they have been. The 
wounded have been cheered and made contented, and many have been 
saved, beyond all question. 

1 sincerely hope you have plenty of everything on hand still: for, if I 
do not mistake the signs of the times, it svill not be long before you will 
again have heavy draughts made upon jou. 

Should you have occasion to visit the front, do not fail to call upon 
us and see for yourself how much good you have done. We think our 
hospital will compare favorably with any field hospital in the army. 

I am, doctor, your sincere friend and well-wisher, 

Edward L. Hill, Surgeon 20th O. V. I., 

Li charge Third Division Field Hospiiul. 

ESTABLISHMEXT OF THE SAXITAEY EEPORTER. 

During 1862 I liad attempted to keep our co-laborers in 
tlie home field informed as to tlie condition and wants of 
tlie troops in camp and hospital, and of the work done by 
the Sanitaiy Commission in theii' behalf, by having copies 
of all important reports received from our agents sent to 
our Branch Commissions. In the early part of 1863, how- 
ever, our work had so expanded, and the number of our 
agents was so much increased, that it became impracticable 
to make copies by hand of all reports received from them. 
I therefore asked and received fi'om the Standing Committee 
peiTuission to reproduce them in type. The first number of 
the "Sanitary Reporter" appeared May 16, 1863. This 
was in no sense tlie organ of the Sanitary Commission, but a 
Sanitary newspaper, and as such it accomplished an amount 
of good whicli it would be difficult to overestimate. To 
this more than to any other cause I must attribute tlie 
interest — I may even call it enthusiasm — with which our 
co-laborers in the home field continued to sustain us, and 
the harmony and cordiality which prevailed among all our 
Associates from this date to the close of the war. Dr. G. L. 
Andrew assumed the editorship of the ''Reporter" at its 



THE SANITARY REPORTER. 103 

commencement ; a position siibseqnently lield in succession 
by Dr. Warriner and Dr. Soule. The first issue was of ^ve 
thousand copies, and it was subsequently increased to seven 
thousand ^ve hundred, to supply the demand made upon 
us for it. 

The subjoined extracts from the first and last issues of 
the •• Reporter" will convey some idea of its spirit and 
work : 

SAXITAEY REPORTER— Louisville, Kt., August 15, 1865. 
VALEDICTORY. 

With the present number the issue of the Sanitary Reporter 
ceases ; by the progress of events its pubhcation being no longer 
necessary. 

The Reporter v^as commenced in May, 1863, with what object 
will be best seen by the following extract from the announcement 
of its mission : 

" Intelligence, direct and reliable, from the army, regarding the 
health of the troops, their condition and their necessities, will be 
given in each number. We hope thus to allay unnecessary alarm, 
and to enable the benevolent and patriotic at home to furnish the 
means in advance of preventing suffering and death. 

"With the reports of the condition and wants of the troops in 
the different Departments, will be given sketches of the work of the 
Sanitary Commission, in all its varied efforts to promote the welfare 
of the soldier, expositions of its aims, and records of its successes. 
From the home field, where that other great army of mothers and 
sisters, wives and sweethearts, is working and watching and praying, 
we shall hope to have frequent good words that shall cheer all loyal 
hearts, and fire anew the enthusiasm of both soldiers and people. 

"From the ^Soldiers" Homes,' the ^Hospital Cars,' the 'Sanitary 
Steamers,' the Hospital Visitors, from the surgeons of hospitals and 
regiments ; in short, from all the friends of the soldier everywhere, 
we shall hope to get reports, notices, suggestions, appeals, and testi- 
monials, by which we shall be instructed and encouraged in otir 
work." 

How far it has fulfilled its promise, those to whom it has been 
sent can better tell than we ; but the many kind words that have 



10-i SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPAETMEXT. 

come back to us from its readers lead us to beliere that the hopes 
that iuspired its inception have not proved altogether yain and 
fruitless. 

We have at least the satisfaction of knowing that it has been 
recognized as a friend and helper by the thousands of warm-hearted 
and patriotic women who, by their faith and labors, have done so 
much, not only to sustain the Sanitary Commission, but to bring 
the war to a close — those women who, while they constitute the 
highest charm of our free and Christian civilization, have also 
proved its most potent safeguard. 

History cannot fail to record in glowing periods the part taken 
by our American women in the life-struggle through which we 
have passed; and it is the glory of our pages that they are every 
where adorned by proofs of the devoted patriotism, the intelligence, 
and executive capacity of our loyal women. 

It is a pleasant thought, too, that they themselves will be liberal 
sharers in the blessings they have done so much to secure to the 
country. While they have cheered and saved from death thousands 
of our brave defenders lying torn and bleeding on the battle field, 
or pining in hospitals, they have won a place for woman in social 
and civil life such as she has never before held ; and from this war 
to the end of time woman is destined to be more loved and honored 
than ever before since the world began. 

For this, with many other reasons, the peace which has now 
come — so dearly bought, so long delayed, so earnestly prayed and 
worked for — is a triumph and a glory for all nations and all times, 
and we rejoice in it with exceeding great joy. The clouds that so 
lately covered the whole horizon, darkening our eyes and weighing 
down our hearts, have all been swept away by the breath of Omnipo- 
tence ; our fears and cares are ended ; our work is done, triumph- 
antly done, and we have only to rest and be glad. And yet our joy 
in the grand consummation of our hopes is not altogether unmin- 
gled with sadness. Our work, though often done with aching hearts 
and tearful eyes, has had charms that lead us to look back upon it 
with almost sorrow that it has ended. It has so engrossed every 
faculty and feeling, has given a zest and purpose and value to life ; 
has developed capal)ilitios before undreamed of; has drawn out good 
in ourselves, our friends, our people, of which we were not only 
unconscious but incredulous. It has formed ties among its devotees 



A REYIEAV OF 1863. 105 

which cannot be seyered withont pain, and fostered friendships that 
will remain while life lasts. 

The splendid spectacle of earnest unselfishness, of spontaneous 
but thoroughly organized charity, presented in the gigantic achieve- 
ments of the Sanitary Commission, exhibits fallen human nature in 
a new light, and introduces a new era in the history of benevolent 
effort. We may be quite sure that the lessons it has taught will not 
be lost to the world, and that all who have participated in this great 
'work will receive due honor, and always recall with pride as well as 
pleasure their connection with it. 

From such a work -we cannot retire without some lingering 
regrets, and while we tender to our noble band of co-laborers our 
heartfelt congratulations that their work and ours is done — and so 
well done — it is with real sadness that we bid them Farewell! 

The following view of the work of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion at the West in 1863, is taken from mv Report of 
September 1st of that year : 

DEPAET3IE1^T OF THE TENNESSEE. 

A general quiet has prevailed on the Mississippi since the cap- 
ture of Vicksburg, and we have of late been compelled to do nothing 
for wounded men. Yet our means have been fully and steadily 
employed in supplying the wants of the large and constantly 
increasing number of sick, multiplied by the advance of the season, 
in all the corps of General Grant^s army. From this cause the 
demand upon our efforts and resources has been no less than at 
any previous time. Indeed, I may say that our operations in that 
Department have been, by an irresistible influence, gradually but 
constantly expanding. The many and great privileges accorded us 
by the General commanding, and others in authority, have opened 
new and wide doors of usefulness, and by accepting the responsi- 
bilities thus laid upon us, our duties have necessarily been increased. 
All the facilities accorded us by General Grant have been continued 
to the present time, and such additional favors as we have since felt 
compelled to ask have been cheerfully granted. By reference to 
the schedule of disbursements in that Department, it will be seen 
that our expenditures there are now much greater than ever before. 
The ability of our agents to meet so fully the demands upon them 



106 SAXITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERIsr DEPARTMEI^T. 

is owing, iu a great measure, to the vastly increased efficiency of the 
Chicago Branch. 

Dr. AVarriner still continues at the head of our force on the 
^Lississippi, ably seconded by Dr. Fithian, Mr. Way and Mr. Tone, 
and every day's experience has given me a higher appreciation of 
the value of his services. I regret to state that all our employes in 
that District have sooner or later been prostrated by disease, and have 
been furloughed home for a longer or shorter time to recuperate. 
There is no one of them who is not now performing his duty at 
the peril of life and health, braving the dangers of his position 
with a degree of devotion for which he should be duly honored. 

After the opening of the Mississippi, one of our agents was 
dispatched to Port Hudson, to respond to any demand that might 
be made upon us at that point. But, from the assurance that a 
large amount of supplies was to be sent up by the agents of the 
Commission at Kew Orleans, no effort has yet been made to carry 
stores below Natchez, where there are many sick not likely to be 
supplied from other sources, and where Ave have, in consequence, 
established a depot. 

To meet wide-spread and severe malarious disease, the supply of 
quinine being inadequate, I have sent down with other stores over two 
hundred ounces in five hundred gallons of whisky, all bottled and 
projierly labeled, to be distributed and used both as a curative and 
prophylactic. Ice is another article so much needed at Vicksburg 
that the resources of the Commission have been freely used to sup- 
plement liberally the supply derived from Government sources. 
Aside from the ten tons taken, each trip, in the ice-box of the 
"Dunleith," one baro^e carrvino- one hundred tons has been sent 
down, and another will be dispatched as soon as the barge can be 
procured. 

In addition to the demands for the supply of our troops at 
Vicksburg, urgent appeals have been made for the relief of the five 
thousand rebel sick left in our hands; appeals which we have not 
felt at liberty wholly to disregard. 

At Helena we have maintained a depot of greater or less import- 
ance, as the troops stationed there have varied in numbers. This 
has been generally under the charge of Dr. Fithian. 

At Memphis we have at present no Inspector, Dr. Estabrook 
having been compelled by illness to return to his home in Iowa. 



i 



DEPART3IEXT OF THE CU3IBERLAXD. 107 

Mr. Christy is there in charge of the Lodge and the Eelief Depart- 
ment ; Mr. Tone of the Department of Supplies, and everything is 
going on smoothly under their supervision. 

Mr. C. X. Shipman, of Chicago, an exceedingly competent and 
excellent man. has been engaged to superintend all Sanitary Tvork 
at Cairo, has entered upon his duties, and has already effected 
marked changes and improvements. The old Home was ahvays 
crowded with soldiers undeserving of its charities, thrust into it by 
the military authorities, who soon converted it into barracks, 
having all the disagreeable features common to institutions of that 
kind. The new Home, partly from the same cause, and partly from 
faults in its situation and construction, failed to accomplish all we 
had hoped from it. Hedged about by difficulties otherwise insur- 
mountable, I applied to General Grant for assistance in the matter, 
and by him orders were issued, which, with the expenditure of a 
moderate sum on our part, will enable us to place both the Eelief 
and the Supply Departments in a condition highly satisfactory. 

DEPART ME XT OE THE CUAIBERLAXD. 

Our work iu this Department is now, as it has long been, under 
the immediate supervision of Dr. A. X. Read, our veteran Inspector, 
who has continued to exhibit in its management the same energy 
and wisdom which have characterized his efforts in our behalf for 
months and years past. He has been ably seconded by Drs. Castle- 
man and Parker as Inspectors ; M. C. Eead and L. Crane in the 
Eelief Department, and Mr. Eobinson, Mr. Butler, Mr. Crary, 
and others in the Department of Supplies. There is no part of 
the whole army where our business is more systematically and 
thoroughly done. The credit of this desirable result is not, how- 
ever, due wholly to the corps of agents who have represented us so 
faithfully there, but should be equally shared by the military and 
medical authorities, all of whom have been at all times most cordi- 
ally co-operative; not only granting cheerfully every reasonable 
request we have made, but even anticipating our wants; often 
spontaneously proffering the aid we were about to need. The cata- 
logue of the officers of this army, who have manifested towards the 
Sanitary Commission cordial and appreciative co-operation, is so 
long that I have not room to give it, but I may say, in general, that 
our relations are of the pleasantest character with every one. All 



108 SANITARY COMMISSION- — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

the regiments comprising this army haA'e received careful special 
inspections; the inspection returns having been forwarded from 
time to time to the Central Office. Their sanitary condition is 
now and has long been remarkably good. The percentage of sick 
is as low, if not lower than in any other army, and protective 
measures, such as the policing of camps, etc., are so thoroughly 
observed that little is left to desire in tliat respect. 

The amount of supplies furnished to the Army of the Cum- 
berland has been very large, (over twenty thousand bushels of 
vegetables alone since January 1st,) yet since the battle of Stone 
Eiver no great and unusual emergency has called for extra efforts 
on our part. 

The hospital gardens established in this Department have 
more than justified all anticipations. That at Murfreesboro had, 
up to August 30th, furnished to the hospitals two hundred and 
forty-eight barrels of assorted vegetables, and the gardener esti- 
mates that it will produce, during the balance of the season, eight 
hundred bushels of tomatoes, twelve hundred bushels of Irish 
potatoes, twelve hundred bushels of sweet potatoes, twenty-five 
thousand heads of cabbage, besides large quantities of beans, 
melons, turnips, etc. 

From time to time reports have been made of the value of the 
service rendered by the hospital cars on the Chattanooga, and 
Louisville and Xashville Eailroads. Time has only served to 
increase our estimate of their impoj'tance, and as the army has 
advanced farther and farther from its base of supplies they have 
been made more and more useful, until they are now recognized as 
an indispensable institution. The hospital cars have been con- 
stantly under the supervision of Dr. Barnum. 

The Home at Xashville, under the wise management of Mr. 
Crane, has been a complete success, and has proved of inestimable 
value to several thousands of the poor fellows for whose benefit it 
was established. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO. 

Siicli ])()i-ti()iis of (Jeiicral I^)iirnside's forces as have been stationed 
in Eastern Kentucky have been carefully inspected by Dr. W. M. 
Prentice, and their wants su])plied from our depot at Lexington, in 
charge of Mr. liutlcr. 



WEST YIKGIXIA AXD KAXSAS. 109 

From General Biirnside ^ye have received, as might have been 
expected, every required facility. He has issued special orders in 
onr "behalf, similar in import to those of General Eosecrans and 
General Grant. 

VTEST VIRCtIXIA. 

The number of troops in this Department has of late been so 
small, their duties so light, and their casualties so few, that there 
has been comparatively little for us to do among them ; so little, 
indeed, that three months since I transferred Dr. Parker to the 
Army of the Cumberland, leaving Mr. Fracker, storekeeper at 
Wheeling, now well known to all the surgeons and ofl&cers in the 
Department, to supply any want that might arise there, and I have 
reason to believe that his duty has been well and faithfully done. 
During the month of August, Dr. Theodore Sterling, temporarily 
employed for that duty, made a complete round of inspection among 
the troops stationed in West Virginia. 

K AXS A s. 

The troops stationed at Leavenworth, Fort Scott, and other 
places in Kansas and the Indian Territory, though they have never 
been very numerous, have been so situated as to be beyond the 
reach of many of the Government supplies liberally furnished to 
those more favorably located. As a consequence, appeals so earnest 
and urgent have been made to us in their behalf that I have felt 
compelled to make somewhat liberal appropriations for their relief. 
Mr. Brown is now, as he has been for several months, acting as our 
agent, and has been indefatigable in his efforts to reach even the 
most distant frontier post with his stores. He is now assisted in his 
labors by Dr. C. C. Slocum. Liberal shipments have recently been 
made him from Chicago and Cleveland. 

WESTEEX CEXTRAL OFFICE. 

Our ofl&ce corps consists of the following gentlemen, in addition 
to myself, all of whom, by their faithfulness in the discharge of 
their duties, and by their earnestness and unity of purpose, have 
not only won my personal esteem, but merit all honor and respect 
from the Commission and its friends: E. T. Thome, Assistant 
Secretary; Dr. George L. Andrew, Medical Inspector and Editor 
of the Eeporter; H. S. Holbrook, Superintendent of Hospital 



110 SANITARY COMMISSION^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Directory; Dr. N. E. Soule, Chief Clerk; C. S. Sill, Accountant; 
W. S. Hanforcl, Superintendent of Transportation; Eev. F. A. 
Bushnell, Hospital Visitor and Eelief Agent. 

We liaye also in service a carefully-selected and well-tramea 
corps of clerical assistants. 

THE H OSPITAL DIRECTORY. 

The Hospital Directory has grown greatly in importance. The 
number of names of sick and wounded on our books is at this date 
one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred and thirty-three, 
representing seven hundred and thirty-seven regiments. The num- 
ber of inquiries that have been made is five thousand eight hundred 
and fifty-two; in answer to which the information required has 
been given in four thousand and sixteen cases. The number of 
hospitals now reporting regularly to us is one hundred and two ; 
number which have reported, one hundred and eighty-four. 

THE SANITARY REPORTER. 

The Sanitary Eeporter, which has reached its eighth number, is 
accomplishing far more for the cause than I had hoped in its estab- 
lishment. Its issue has been increased to six thousand, and it is 
not yet sufiicient to meet the urgent demands that are made upon 
us for it. Though in no sense the official organ of the Commission, 
and created to supply what was felt to be a pressing want in this 
Department, we have aimed to make it as catholic and national as 
possible, and have published all the information in regard to the 
general operations of the Commission that we have been able 
to procure. The testimonials which it has elicited from our friends 
and co-laborers, both East and West, are numerous and flattering. 

THE HOME FIELD. 

I have recently visited nearly all parts of the home field in this 
Department, and have had the pleasure of personal interviews with 
the noble band of loyal and humane men and women who are 
devoting themselves to the great work in which we are engaged. 
This round of visits has afi()rded me great gratification, and I can 
not adequately express my admiration of the devotion and efficiency 
which characterize the great corps of our fellow-laborers. 

A thorough business system pervades most of our Branch 
Societies in the Northwest. Witli great energy and success they have 



THE HOME FIELD. Ill 

canyassed their respective fields of labor; uniting in perfect concert 
of action the Soldiers' Aid Societies which haye sprung up sponta- 
neously, or as the result of their efi'orts, in eyery town and hamlet 
throughout the land. Admirable forms are now generally adopted 
for recording and reporting their business. Great progress has been 
made within a few months past, and whatever one may have found 
to approve, heretofore, in the workings of the Supply Department 
of the West, would be doubly justified by its present condition. 

Transportation of stores is everywhere gratuitous; messages 
relating to our business are sent over the telegraph lines free, and 
the whole work of collecting and forwarding supplies, while it has 
all the soul and enthusiasm of a labor of love, is as thoroughly 
disciplined and systematized as any of the great enterprises of 
purely mercenary business. 

As comparisons are confessedly invidious, and it is necessary that 
some examples should be given, I shall take the liberty of referring 
to the work of each of our Branches in succession. 

CHICAGO. 

Since the 1st of January, the work of the Chicago Branch has 
been completely revolutionized, and so greatly expanded that it has 
become the first in importance in the list of our auxiliaries at the 
"West. Always loyal and earnest in spirit, and working with a 
degree of energy and success highly creditable to the small number 
who took an active part in its operations, yet its efficiency has been 
many times multiplied during the present year. On the first of 
January the whole number of packages of stores forwarded to the 
army was four thousand five hundred, while the present number is 
sixteen thousand three hundred and fifteen. This splendid result is 
due, in a great degree, to the intelligence and industry of two admi- 
rable ladies, Mrs. Livermore and Mrs. Hoge, who have instituted 
a system of correspondence and canvassing, by which the interest of 
the whole Northwest has been greatly stimulated, as well as drawn 
to this one focus. Contributions are now made to Chicago from all 
Northern Illinois, from parts of Iowa, all of Wisconsin, Western 
Michigan, and Northern Indiana ; so that the work of this Society 
contains the embodiment of the interest in our cause of an immense 
area. The shipments from Chicago have been, for many reasons, 
mainly directed down the Mississippi River, and have constituted 



112 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTEKX DEPAETMEXT. 

two-thirds of all oitr contributions to the army of General Grant. 
The Chicago Branch, like that of Cincinnati, now publishes regu- 
larly a Monthly Bttlletin of its operations, for distrilnition among 
its atixiliaries. 

In Central and Sonthern Illinois, the contributions of Sanitary 
stores mainly pass through the hands of the Illinois State Sanitary 
Bureau, but are almost all forwarded to our agents for distribution. 
'With this Bureati our relations have always been cordial and 
pleasant, and a spirit of co-operation has been manifested by its 
officers which has contributed to the success of their efforts and 
otirs. 

IOWA. 

The patriotism and benevolence of the people of Iowa flow 
toward the army in two "channels : the one represented by the Eey. 
A. J. Kynett. and the other Associate Members of our Commission 
who are working in unity with us. and constitute a Branch of our 
organization ; and the other represented by Mrs. TVittenmeyer. hold- 
ing an independent position, or in alliance with the Western Sani- 
tary Commission at St. Louis. The contributions made by those 
who are working with and for us in Iowa are forwarded to Chicago 
for shipment to the army. 

w I s c X s I X . 

A wide-spread and active interest in our work has been for a 
long time exhibited in this State, and there are scattered over all 
parts of it Aid Societies, whose contributions, forming a large 
aggregate, pass through Chicago. In fact, all these societies are 
ttnited in a State organization, of which, however, the extent and 
the efforts are botiuded by no State lines. It is but just that I 
should also mention that the State officers of Wisconsin, especially 
tlie Governor and Surgeon General, have from the first worked in 
harmony witli us, and have manifested a broad and generous spirit. 
in striking contrast with that which has actuated the officers of 
some other AVestern States. Among those to whom we are indebted 
for the important part that Wisconsin has taken in our enterprise, 
I should not fail to mention the name of Mrs. H. L. Colt, Cor- 
responding Secretary of the Milwaukee Society, a lady who has been 
herself repeatedly to the army to look after the wants of our soldiers, 
and by lier untiring efforts in the home field in tlieir behalf has 



:michigak" axd ixdiai^a. 113 

most richly deserved their gratitude. Our co-laborers in the ^North- 
west are planning a grand Fair, to be held in Chicago in October, 
for the benefit of our cause. Xo efforts will be spared to make it, 
what it can hardly fail to be, a complete success. 

MICHIGAiT. 

The people of Michigan have not been behind the inhabitants of 
other portions of the Northwest in their interest or activity in the 
present war, and they have contributed largely in the aggregate to 
our resources. But from the want of a general effort to excite 
interest and concentrate action, many parts of the State have, until 
recently, done comparatively little for the cause in which we are 
engaged. The western and southern portions, however, have been 
forwarding sui3plies to Chicago for a year or more, and the south- 
eastern portion has sent something like a thousand boxes to the 
Soldiers' Aid Society of Detroit since the period of its organization, 
November 1, 1861. 

Feeling the necessity of a more thorough exploitation of the 
State of Michigan, about the 1st of August I visited Detroit in 
company with Professor Andrews, of Marietta College, for two 
years lieutenant colonel of the 36th Ohio, who was engaged to 
act during his vacation as canvassing agent for the Commission. 
On consultation with the managers of the Aid Society, among 
whom Miss Valeria Campbell deserves special mention for her 
unwearied efforts in behalf of the sick soldier, a thorough 
re-organization of this Society was effected, by which it became 
formally auxiliary to the Sanitary Commission, and instituted 
measures for interesting all parts of the State in its work. Since 
that time it has greatly increased in efficiency, and is noAv sending 
us large quantities of the most desirable varieties of stores. 

I X D I A I^ A . 

The contributions of the people of Indiana to the sick and 
wounded in the army have mainly passed through the hands of the 
Governor and a State Sanitary Bureau, acting under his directions. 
Yet several hundred packages of stores have been forwarded to 
Chicago fi'om the northern portion of the State, and perhaps an 
equal number from the southern portion to the Commission of our 
Auxiliaries organized at New Albany. This latter Society, during 

8 



114 sa:n'itart cox^iissiox — westerj^ department. 

tlie first year of the war, nobly sustained the responsibility thrown 
npon it in the care of the sick in the hospitals of that city. 

OHIO. 

The State of Ohio occupies a conspicuous and enyiable position 
among the noble sisterhood who haye giyen so freely of their treas- 
ures and their blood to saye our country from ruin, and to maintain, 
in purity and permanence, all our free institutions. Among the 
forms in which her patriotism has exhibited itself, not the least 
worthy of mention is her general and earnest support of our philan- 
thropic organization. Aside from all that has been done by indi- 
yiduals, other organizations, or the State Goyernment, Ohio has now 
furnished to the army, through the agency of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, oyer thirty thousand packages of supplies; in other words, 
half of all that has been contributed to the Sanitary Commission in 
the Mississippi Valley. This great eflficiency which Ohio has mani- 
fested in our work is unquestionably due, for the most part, to the 
early organization of three Branch Commissions within her limits, 
each of which has been most earnest and untiring ; and two, that 
of Cincinnati and Cleyeland, managed with wonderful energy and 
skill, haye been pre-eminently successful and useful. That of 
Columbus, though accomplishing less than the others named, has 
done a noble work, which will compare fayorably with that of any 
other similarly situated in the land. 

CIIs^CIKKATI. 

The Branch Commission at Cincinnati has now distributed oyer 
twelye thousand packages of stores, and is still as active and pros- 
perous as at any former period of its history. In addition to these 
contributions of material, the Cincinnati Commission has expended 
large sums of money and a yast amount of labor, of thought, of 
sympathy and kindness in the care of the sick in the hospitals of 
that city ; in the equipment and management of hospital steamers ; 
in the care of troops passing through or quartered in the city ; and 
in sustaining its admirable " Home," which has now accommodated 
forty thousand soldiers. So great and yaried are the charities 
which it has dispensed, that I can do no more here than allude, in 
a general way, to that which it would take yolumes to describe, 
that which has served to make the Cincinnati Branch of the 



BEAKCH C03OI1SSI0XS OF OHIO. 115 

Sanitary Commission knoTVTi and blessed in every Department and 
division of our Western armies. 

C OLUMBUS. 

From the inland position of this city, and her remoteness from 
the seat of war, the inhabitants of Colnmbns have not felt, to so 
great a degree, the varied and pressing demands to which Cincin- 
nati has so nobly responded; but onr representatives there have 
not been regardless of the responsibilities which have fallen to their 
share. They have answered promptly and efficiently all appeals 
which I have made, and have forwarded an aggregate of supplies in 
the highest degree creditable to them. The territory tributary to 
Columbus not having been thoroughly canvassed, I have authorized 
the employment of an excellent man to act, for a limited period, as 
canvassing agent in this District. In addition to its other work, the 
Columbus Branch has built a very complete and tasteful " Home " 
for the accommodation of the sick and discharged soldiers passing 
through that city, and needing, as they have done sadly, the aid 
that has been there rendered them. 

CLEVELAND. 

The merest justice to the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern 
Ohio requires that I should at least allude to the energy which has 
already furnished us, from a limited District, ten thousand packages 
of stores ; to a skill and wisdom which, with simple, though nicely 
adjusted machinery, has accomplished so quietly and peacefully this 
great result ; and to a loyalty to us and our national platform, pure 
and unqualified from the first. In addition to the work which 
Cleveland has done in the Supply Department, she has also per- 
formed her part in the work of special relief. She has, for many 
months past, kept up a Home and Hospital for sick and discharged 
soldiers passing through, at which have been lodged over two 
thousand, and ten thousand have been fed. 

PITTSBUKGH. 

Owing to a series of unfortunate circumstances, which it is not 
necessary now to enumerate, among which, however, is not to be 
reckoned any want of patriotism or benevolence on the part of the 
citizens of Pittsburgh, this large and wealthy city has only lately 



116 SAxiTARY com:m:issio]S" — westek:n" department. 

become actively interested in our work. Up to the spring of the 
present year the Sanitary Commission had there no resident repre- 
sentative. Much had been done, however, by the inhabitants of 
Pittsburgh in behalf of the sick and wounded in the army. They 
had sent delegations to the scenes of several of our earlier battles, 
had chartered and freighted two steamers for the relief of the 
wounded at Shiloh, and had brought home and carefully nursed in 
their midst a large number of those who, at that time, could be 
but imperfectly accommodated in the military hospitals at the West. 
In addition to this, a " Subsistence Committee" had been organized 
for the purpose of supplying food to the troops passing through 
the city. 

After the battle of Stone River, Mr. Joseph Shippen, who had 
been sent West by Governor Cur tin to look after the wants of 
Pennsylvania soldiers, and who, in the prosecution of his mission, 
had become intimately acquainted with, and very much interested 
in, our national method, was engaged to canvass Western Pennsyl- 
vania in our behalf. At Pittsburgh, he was received most cordially, 
and, in response to his appeals, a local Commission was organized, 
consisting of some of the best known and most estimable men and 
women of the city. From that time to the present our Pittsburgh 
Associates have exhibited a devotion to the cause in which they are 
interested which has elicited my warm admiration, and has been 
the means of contributing largely to our resources. They have 
already expended several thousand dollars in the purchase of Sani- 
tary stores, and have forwarded to us some three thousand packages, 
including a large proportion of the choicest and most valuable 
articles which we distribute. 

B UFFALO. 

Although, in defining the limits of my Department, Buffalo was 
excluded from it and attached to that of the East, the logic of 
events has proved stronger than our classification, and whatever may 
have been her theoretical relations, Buffalo has become practically 
an important auxiliary in our efforts in behalf of the armies of the 
West. It is true that most of the troops from the State of New 
York have been in service in some of the Eastern or Southern 
J)e})artments; yet, with a noble generosity and catholic spirit, 
the Army Aid Society of Buffalo has overlooked all selfish 



THE KEKTUCKY BRAN^CH. 117 

considerations, and has ever manifested a desire to extend her aid 
to such soldiers of our National Army as most needed help and 
could be most readily reached. 

Acting on this plan, she has sent to us over three thousand 
packages of stores, which have been distributed in the Departments 
of the Cumberland and the Tennessee, and I have learned to rely 
with confidence upon receiving a prompt and vigorous response to 
any appeal which we might be led by any present emergency to 
make. In considering how small a territory is tributary to the 
Buffalo Society, I cannot refrain from awarding high praise to those 
who have drawn from it so much to comfort and bless those for 
whom we are laboring. 

KEKTUCKY BEAI^CH. 

During the first year of the war, Louisville was at or so near the 
front, that the earnest and able men who compose the Branch Com- 
mission at this point were occupied and engrossed in the work of 
distributing stores, and in various ways meeting the wants of the 
sick and wounded in their own midst, and in the hospitals scattered 
at various points through Kentucky and Tennessee. At this time 
all stores intended for the Army of the Cumberland were forwarded 
through their Agency, and their depository here had the double 
character of a contributing and distributing depot. In the works of 
love and mercy of those days, our Louisville Associates bore a con- 
spicuous part ; and from that period to the present they have never 
ceased to devote a large part of their time and thought to the care 
of the great number of objects of pity and charity which merciless 
war has thrown upon their hands. When the armies were further 
removed, and the Central Office was transferred to this point, all 
the general business of the Sanitary Commission was relinquished 
to this ofl&ce, while the members of the Kentucky Branch, by a 
division of labor, assumed the responsibility of all the local work, 
the care of the city hospitals, twenty-two in number, and addressed 
themselves to devise new measures of relief for soldiers passing 
through the city, who were the proper objects of our charity. 
Since January 1st, tlie "Home" has lodged seventeen thousand of 
those for whom it was especially designed, while a much larger 
number of passing troops has been fed at the "Soldier's Eest" 
attached to it. 



118 SAXITAKY COMMISSIOI^ — WESTERK DEPARTMEI^T. 

Before leaying this subject, I cannot refrain from expressing my 
conyiction that one of the most important results attained by the 
Sanitary Commission is to be found in the home field ; but one in 
our reports to the present time overlooked. I allude to its influence 
in inspiring the people in every farm-house and cottage, wherever a 
good grandmother is knitting a pair of socks, or a child making a 
pincushion, with a wider, deeper, higher, and purer patriotism. 

It is due that this truth be recognized and put on record. 
From all parts of the country we have the testimony of our con- 
tributors that they are driven by the spirit which pervades their 
work, to open and desperate antagonism with disloyalty in every 
form ; and that unwittingly they are everywhere doing missionary 
work for the national cause. While our G-overnment has one great 
army in the field, of those who are pouring out their life-blood in 
its defense, the Sanitary Commission has in the home field another 
great army, composed of the mothers and sisters, wives and sweet- 
hearts of our brave soldiers, working scarcely less earnestly and 
efficiently for the same great end. 

Very respectfully, 

J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission. 
THE AUTUMN CAMPAIGN OF 1863. 

Except in the Department of the Cumberland, wliicli 
became the theater of events constantly increasing in interest 
and importance, the "situation" recorded in the preceding 
report continued during the remainder of the j^ear 1863 in 
all parts of the West without great change. In West Vir- 
ginia there was little activity on the part of the military 
force stationed there. After a round of inspection made by 
Dr. Theodore Sterling, the depot at Wheeling, with its 
resident distributing agent, sufficed to sustain our responsi- 
bilities in this field. A similar report must be made for 
Kansas. No great battles occurred in that District, but our 
excellent agents, Mr. Brown and Dr. Slocum, were kept 
constantly busy, and accomplished a great amount and 
variety of good, of which ample evidence appears in the 



THE AUTUMI^ CAMPAIGiN'. 119 

columns of tlie "Reporter" and "Bulletin." On tlie 
Mississippi, a gradual decline of excitement and interest 
followed the capture of Yicksburg, yet a large army was 
quartered there, and military movements of some magnitude 
were carried on in Arkansas ; all of wMch kept our agents 
busy. A supply steamer continued fully employed in the 
transportation of the great quantity of stores with which 
the liberality of the Northwest supplied us, till the 1st of 
October. After the battle of Chickamauga, two corps of 
the Army of the Tennessee were transported to the Depart- 
ment of the Cumberland, and the interest pertaining to 
military operations in the West gradually concentrated 
there. 

BATTLES OF CHICKAMAUGA AKD CHATTAI^OOGA. 

The military events which took place in the Department of 
the Cumberland during the autumn of 1863 were of great 
interest, both as regards the number of troops engaged, the 
brilliant movements which they performed, the sanguinary 
battles fought, and the substantial advantages gained to the 
Union cause. The more important moves on the military 
chess-board were as follows : After being driven across the 
Tennessee by Greneral Rosecrans, Bragg betook himself to 
Chattanooga, the military key of all this region, and this 
then became the objective point of the Army of the Cum- 
berland. It was gained, as is well known, without a siege 
or battle, by one of those great flank movements which gave 
character to the later operations of the War, and which are 
the natural resort of a preponderating force driving the 
weaker from his natural or artificial defenses. To accomplish 
this purpose, General Rosecrans abandoned his railroad 
communication at Stevenson, and, dividing his army into 
three columns, by marches of almost unequaled severity 
pushed them over the Cumberland Mountains, through 



1"20 SAXITAKY C0M:MISSI0X — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

different gaps, meuacing Bragg in front and at tlie same 
time threatening Ms commnnications. Taking tlie alarm. 
Bragg evacnated Cliattanooga. on tlie Stli of September. 
and Imrried sontliward to meet tlie reinforcements coming 
to liis relief. Before Rosecrans conld gather his separated 
corps, and effectnallv close the door by which Bragg had 
retreated, he returned T\i.th greatly angmented strength, and 
attacking onr unprepared army, inflicted npon it the defeat 
of Chickamanga. If this attack had been made a few hoiu's 
later, the result of the battle would doubtless have been 
very different. The position chosen by Rosecrans was 
good, and the success with which Thomas held his ground 
proves that if all oiii- forces had been in the places assigned 
them, and the plan of defense understood by all. so long as 
the mountains that gnarded onr flanks held tliek position, 
the efforts of the rebels would have been fruitless. 

From the battle of Chickamanga Rosecrans retreated to 
Chattanooga, fortified and held the town and a segment of 
a ciiTle of two miles radins rnnning fi'om the river above to 
the river below. All the territory on the sontli side of the 
Tennessee, ^vitli this exception, thus again came into 
possession of the enemy. Then ensued a terrible struggle 
to maintain the important and dangerous position held by 
our army. All supplies were transported fi'om Stevenson 
over the almost impassable ''passes'' of the Cumberland 
Mountains. For four months, including the period referred 
to, the army was on short rations, and. during tlie time of 
the greatest scarcity, it received less than a quarter of its 
nominal subsistence. The want of food among the men 
was such that th(\v were fain to glean about the feeding 
troughs for tlu^ grains of corn dropped from the meager 
store doled out to the mules, upon which the transx)ortation 
of the anny depended, aiid which //nist be kept alive at all 
hazards. 



MILITAEY CHA:S-GES. 121 

Immediately after the battle of Chickamaiiga. General 
Grant, who had been placed in command of the Depart- 
ments of the Ohio, Ctimberland. and Tennessee, (of which 
Bnrnside, Rosecrans, and Sherman were respectively 
Department commanders,) relieved Rosecrans, and assigned 
Thomas to the command of the Army of the Cumberland. 
At this time two corps of the Army of the Potomac, under 
Hooker, and two corps of the Army of the Tennessee. 
iinder Sherman, were sent to co-operate with Tliomas. 
Grant, going himself to the field, took command in person 
of these combined forces. On the 27th of October a portion 
of the garrison at Chattanooga made a night descent of the 
river, and in co-operation with Hooker s command, recap- 
tured Lookout Yalley. and opened the river from Bridgeport 
to the base of Lookout Mountain: diminishing the land 
transportation of supplies from fifty to ten miles— the latter 
distance being that which separates Chattanooga from 
Kelly' s Ferry, the point of transhipment. The enemy still 
held Lookout Mountain, which commanded the river imme- 
diately below Chattanooga, ^lission Ridge, which was 
crowned with his batteries, and all the area around Chatta- 
nooga on the south and east. 

Secure in the natural and artificial defenses of his posi- 
tion, which seemed to defy assault, Bragg ventui'ed to 
weaken his army by sending Longstreet' s corps to drive 
Burnside fi'om Knoxville. Taking advantage of this favor- 
able moment, Sherman s command was thrown across the 
Tennessee above Chattanooga, and on the 2oth of November 
the rebels were driven fi'om then* position, and a victory 
achieved which was one of the most brilliant and important 
of the war. Bragg and the remnants of his amiy fled into 
Georgia, and Longstreet, unsuccessful in his assault tipon 
Knoxville. and hard pressed bv Sherman, who was sent to 
its relief, retreated throuo-h the mountains to Yira-inia and 



122 SAKITAEY COMMISSIOK — WESTEKK DEPARTME:N'T. 

rejoined Lee. Tims the campaign of 1863 was finished in a 
blaze of gioiy. 

The work of the Sanitary Commission, connected with 
the movements above sketched, is so fnlly given in the 
reports which follow, that further illustration of it is 
scarcely required. It may be said briefly, however, that 
it was pushed with all the vigor possible. Throughout all 
this arduous campaign, the wanderings of the army were 
closel}^ followed ; its hardships and privations shared, and 
its wants and suiferings sensibly mitigated by the agents 
of the Sanitary Commission. 

A liberal share of the limited transportation of the army 
was alwaj's granted us by our old friends, the Commanding 
General, and the officers of the Quartermaster and Medical 
Departments. Our facilities were also increased by the 
presence and cordial co-operation of General Meigs — the 
Quartermaster General — who then, as always, proved him- 
self a cordial friend to the Commission and the soldier. 

Agencies of the Sanitary Commission were established 
at Stevenson and Bridgeport, to which stores were sent 
forward in large quantity, and from which the army at 
Chattanooga was supplied just so far as the terrible difiicul- 
ties in the way of transportation could be overcome. While 
the river was closed, and all supplies were transported to 
Chattanooga overland, several Government trains were 
destroyed by the enemy, in one of which we lost seventeen 
wagon loads of stores. The agents who accompanied them 
were taken prisoners and held until, by the dispersion of 
their captors, they were set at liberty. With this exception 
none of our stores were ever captured or destroyed by the 
rebels at the West. 

When tlie wounded from the battle of Cliickamauga 
began to be transj^orted in wagons and ambulances to 
Stevenson, a Lodge and Feeding Station was established in 



WAYSIDE KELIEP. 123 

the monntains near Jasper, by whicTi the sufferings of the 
poor fellows condemned to this painful journey were mate- 
rially lessened. As soon as the river was opened to Kelly' s 
Ferry, this Lodge was transferred to that point, where it 
afforded great relief to the wounded gathered there for 
transhipment. A Lodge was also established at Bridge- 
port, which performed the same kind offices for the same 
persons, on their transfer from steamboats to the railroad. 

Agents of the Hospital Directory were sent to this 
Department during the exciting events of the fall campaign. 
These gathered the statistics of the battles and hospitals 
from day to day, and dispatched them to Louisville. To 
insure the transmission of these important and intensely 
interesting documents, the military couriers, riding between 
Chattanooga and Stevenson, and the Adams Express Com- 
pany, on the railroad thence to Louisville, burdened 
themselves with their care, and not only gratuitously 
transmitted them, but did it with special promptness. 

Toward the close of 1863 the operations of the Sanitarjr 
Commission in the Department of the Cumberland had 
attained such magnitude that more than fifty agents were 
busily employed there. At this time Chattanooga became 
the most important Agency we had in the Yalley of the 
Mississippi. I^ashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville were 
fully equipped for all duty in every department of our 
work, and began their ministrations to the great armies 
quartered near them. This gave character and importance 
to our operations in the West during the campaign of 1864. 

BATTLE OF CHIOKAMAUGA. 

REPORT OF M. C. READ. 

^ ^ r. ^^ Stevenson, a la., September 24, 1863. 

Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western T)epaHment TJ. S. Sanitary Commission^ Louisville: 

Dear Sir — I reached this point on the 1st of September, in 

company with my brother, Dr. A. IST. Read, who had visited the 



124 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

place repeatedly before, and established a depot of stores here. The 
immediate demand for supplies was then not large, as much of the 
army was inaccessible, and was so situated that vegetables and other 
supplies could, in part, be drawn from the country. 

All the sick who could be reached from the different stations 
along the road were liberally supplied with stores, and vegetables 
were furnished to such regiments as seemed most needy. 

After our troops commenced crossing the river at different 
points, it was for a time impossible to follow them with our supplies, 
on account of the difficulty of procuring transportation over the 
rugged mountain roads, and because no one could foresee the points 
where they would ultim.ately be required. Arrangements were, 
however, made with the Medical Director of the Department, by 
whom we were to be notified by telegraph or courier of any probable 
engagement with the enemy, the notice to be accompanied by an 
order for the requisite transportation. 

As our troops passed further from the river, and began to con- 
centrate around Chattanooga, it seemed best to have a personal 
inspection of the wants of the army, and of the routes by which 
stores could reach the different divisions from Stevenson or Bridge- 
port. Accordingly, we purchased saddle horses, and on the 8th 
started for the front, passing through Bridgeport and over Eaccoon 
or Sandy Mountain by a rocky, difficult mountain road, reaching 
General Rosecrans' head-quarters at Trenton, Ga., on the afternoon 
of the 9th. Here we heard of the evacuation of Chattanooga, and 
on the morning of the 10th reached that place in company with a 
part of the General's staff. 

At Chattanooga we learned that the enemy were steadily falling 
back, the rumors of the probabilities of an engagement constantly 
changing and contradictory. Should one occur, it was evident 
there would be great destitution, and having ascertained by inspec- 
tion of the routes by which supplies must be brought in, that 
practically Chattanooga was farther from Bridgeport than the latter 
place is from Louisville, we made immediate and persistent efforts 
to procure transportation, so as to forward as many stores as we 
could at the earliest moment, and finally succeeded in getting 
tlirough, witli the first supply train that reached the place, seven 
wagon loads of milk, beef, rags, bandages, dried fruits, hospital 
clothing, &c. Mr. Crary, our storekeeper at Stevenson, came through 



BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. 125 

with, the train, and immediately returned to superintend the 
forwarding of farther supplies. Dr. Barnum and Messrs. Redding 
and Larrabee had all come through to Chattanooga, and other help 
at Stevenson and Bridgeport was indispensable. We also obtained 
an order for four more wagons, which was telegraphed to Stevenson, 
and the wagons were loaded and forwarded before Mr. Crary got 
through on his return. During the battle he sent forward additional 
supplies, which were turned back by an order stopping all trains, 
and did not reach Chattanooga before we left the place, but crossed 
the river and Avere taken in charge by the hospital steward of the 
93d Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a faithful man, who undertook to 
get them through by the route on this side. 

Good rooms were secured at Chattanooga, our stores assorted and 
arranged for rapid delivery, before the battle commenced. Skir- 
mishing occurred along the line for several days, and a few wounded 
men were brought to the hospitals in the town. These were 
supplied with such articles as they required from our rooms, and we 
also sent forward, by every safe means, a limited supply to the tem- 
porary hospitals at the front. 

On Saturday, the 19th, the general engagement commenced 
and continued, suspended at intervals, while changing positions or 
falling back, throughout Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 
During this time, there was no opportunity of making even the 
briefest memoranda, and the events, of which I am giving you this 
hurriedly written narrative, may not all be detailed in the order of 
their occurrence. My brother was severely sick, and had been so 
for several days. In fact, he was totally unfitted for work, but 
persisted in doing what he could, and continued the general super- 
intendence of the works. ISTot a great many wounded were sent 
back on Saturday, but on Sunday they came in in numbers far 
beyond the ability of all of the medical ofiicers to provide even 
tolerably for their comfort. At the request of the Medical Director, 
Dr. Barnum took possession of two large blocks, cleared out the 
rooms, fitted them up temporarily for the wounded, supplying them 
with clothing, bandages, and edibles from our rooms, procured and 
put up stores, dressed the wounds of those most requiring imme- 
diate assistance, and superintended the providing and cooking of 
rations for the men. All of the rooms were soon filled, and by his 
untiring efforts, from fifteen hundred to two thousand were rendered 



126 SAKITART COMMISSIOl^r — WESTEEK DEPAKTMENT. 

tolerably comfortable. On Sunday, I visited all the hospitals and 
temporary resting places for the wounded, notifying the officers in 
charge of the location of our rooms and the nature of our supplies, 
asking them to send for everything we had, so far as it was needed. 
Eeturning late in the evening, I found a large church on Main 
street where services had been held during the day, and saw that the 
steps were crowded with wounded men. Entering the church, it 
was found filled with a congregation from the battle field, crippled 
with every variety of wounds, with no medical or other officer in 
charge, without food of any kind, without water, and without even 
a candle to shed a glimmering light over their destitution ; silent 
worshipers in the darkness — patient, unmurmuring martyrs in a 
noble cause, apparently deserted by all except Him in whose 
sanctuary they had taken refuge. I immediately carried concen- 
trated beef to the residence of Dr. Simms, near the church, a 
resident physician of rebel sympathies, but a generous, warm-hearted 
man, in whose office we had some days before found quarters, and 
where my brother superintended the preparation of soup, while I 
bought candles and a box of hard bread, had them carried to the 
church, and procuring water, distributed it for the thirsty. 

Never before had I so high an appreciation of "nature's sweet 
restorer, balmy sleep." Two-thirds of the occupants of the church, 
some with shattered arms, and some with other ghastly wounds, 
were sleeping quietly upon the seats and the floor, unconscious of 
their many wounds. 

The soup was brought and distributed to the wakeful, and 
my brother and Dr. Simms commenced dressing the wounds, and 
continued their labors until sheer exhaustion compelled them to 
desist. The waking men provided for, the sleeping were allowed to 
sleep in peace. I reported the condition of these men to the Medical 
Director, and medical officers were put in charge of them, and in 
the morning a chaplain took charge of vegetables and other eatables 
which I sent from the rooms, and superintended the preparation of 
food for the men. At this time, Monday, the streets were completely 
blockaded for their whole length with army wagons, as an order 
had been issued on Sunday for the whole train to be sent across the 
river. This was done apparently to avoid confusion, and to save 
the train if our forces should be compelled to evacuate the place. 
The only means of crossing was one narrow pontoon bridge, and 



SAI^ITARY SUPPLY TKAIKS. 127 

for two days the trains filled all the streets. Our stores were needed 
everywhere, but nobody could get to our quarters. After applying 
to several head-quarters, I procured an order for three army wagons 
to report at our rooms for the distribution of stores ; and hastily 
riding to the different hospitals, obtained approximately the capacity 
of each, the number of the inmates, and the nature of the articles 
most needed. The usual answer, however, to the question, "What 
do you need most?" was, "Everything," a comprehensive, but 
almost literally a truthful answer. Eeturning to the rooms, I gave 
general directions to Messrs. Eedding and Larrabee, who superin- 
tended the loading of the wagons, and piloted each one when 
loaded, through the dense mass of teams to its destination; at 
first sight, an apparently hopeless undertaking, but the words, 
" This wagon is loaded with stores for your wounded comrades ; can 
you make room for it to pass?" operated like magic everywhere, 
and in no single instance did I find a driver who did not promptly 
and cheerfully open a way for the supplies, and that, too, through 
streets where there were three, four, and five parallel trains, the 
drivers all anxious to reach the pontoon bridge first and secure 
precedence in crossing. In this way we succeeded in getting a good 
supply, a full wagon load each to the seminary building and old rebel 
hospitals on the hill, to the old rebel hospital near the Crutchfield 
Hotel, (now called No. 2,) to the Crutchfield Hotel, where there 
were about fifteen hundred wounded, to two churches west of the 
Crutchfield house, to the Presbyterian Church, and to three blocks 
of buildings on Main street, and to the officers' hospital, in a large 
brick building east of Main street. 

This work left no time for gathering statistics, no time to get the 
names of the hospitals, or the number of the inmates, even had 
the surgeons had time to give them names or make out registers. 
Clerks were busy at the latter task, but in no place had they 
completed their labors. This work consumed the day and my 
strength, but I felt that my health was good, and with a few hours' 
rest could start afresh. I determined to remain if the place should 
be evacuated, and if allowed to do so, make out a register of the 
wounded who were left behind; but in the night my brother 
became so much worse that it was evident he must leave at once, 
and that it was not safe for him to undertake alone the tedious 
sixty miles ride over the mountains, as he might at any hour be 



128 SAXITARY C0M3IISSI0X — T^'ESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

compelled to stop by the way. His only sou. a lieutenant of the 
101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, had come in wounded, and was going 
through with his lieutenant colonel, but both so badly crippled as 
to require assistance instead of being able to afford it. It was, 
therefore, determined that I should accompany my brother on his 
return, and on the morning of Tuesday I procured teams, and the 
residue of our stores was distributed : also jirocured an ambulance 
for the two officers wlio were to accompany us. TVe put into the 
ambulance a few shirts and drawers, a box of beef, and a few other 
articles to distribute by the way, as a long train of wounded were 
taking the same route, and left Chattanooga about noon Tuesday, 
with arrangements for the others to follow tlie next day should it be 
necessary; if not, to remain and distribute such stores as we cotild 
get through. 

After crossing the river, while climbing the mountains and 
working our way toward the head of the train, we found a soldier 
shot through the shoulder, but able to sit up. whose only clothing 
was his pants, socks and hat. Eiding back to the ambulance I 
procured for him a shirt, which was all that could then be done for 
him. 

The train camped upon the top of the mountain, and by the 
time I had made coffee and prepared a soldiers supper for our com- 
pany, the wounded were ranged in messes around their camp fires, 
those least crippled preparing supper for themselves and the others. 
I could not sleep till all it was in our power to do was done for their 
comfort. So taking that box of beef from the ambulance. I carried 
it to the camp, and seeking out the messes containing the feeblest 
men, distributed to each a can. giving instructions how to prepare 
it, and directions to feed first the weakest and those most needing 
it. In several cases, I was gratified by the response to my inquiries, 
" We are all able to get along on our rations; in that mess (pointing 
it out) there are men who can eat nothing we have ; give it to them, 
as they need it more than we do." Such was the response in one 
instance when I told the men what I had, and they, for the instant, 
supposing it was for sale, were eager to buy, but informing them 
that it was to be given to the most needy, were equally ready to 
direct me to them, and sought none of it themselves. Many were 
found so wounded in the face that they could not masticate food, 
and some so weak that their stomachs would refuse the ordinary 



AT BKIDGEPORT. 129 

rations, who would all have gone supperless to their beds upon the 
hard ground without this supply. 

Wednesday night we reached Bridgeport, and found there a 
supply of stores in charge of John Place, a detailed volunteer of 
the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who has rendered us efi&cient 
service, and was distributing them faithfully and judiciously to 
those most needing them, but holding the greater part of them for 
shipment to the front. Here we met Mr. Eno, State agent of 
Illinois, and Mr. Willard, State agent of Michigan, hard working, 
judicious men, whose sympathies are bounded by no State lines, and 
who are ever ready to extend all the aid in their power to all Union 
soldiers alike. They remain at present at Bridgeport, and are 
authorized to draw from our supplies such stores as may be required 
for the wants of any of the soldiery. They have already made 
arrangements (as they informed us by telegraph) to feed all the 
wounded, as they reach that place from the front, drawing upon our 
stores for this purpose. 

The stores most in demand at Chattanooga were of edibles, beef, 
milk, stimulants and dried fruit. The beef, on account of its 
intrinsic value, portability, and the readiness with which it can be 
prepared, is the most valuable of all, and at such a time as this 
there is no danger of an over-supply ; of clothing and dressings, 
bandages and rags were first in demand, then shirts, drawers, com- 
forts and blankets. Of the last we had but a few, and there was a 
great demand for them. Most of the wounded had lost their 
blankets, the nights were cold, and they suflFered greatly on that 
account. I have mentioned only these few articles of prime neces- 
sity, but ever}i}hing usually furnished for the sick and wounded 
was then, and is now, in great demand. We are able to provide for 
those who get through to the railroad what is needed in addition to 
Government supplies, but it is essential that large quantities of all 
the usual articles be shipped through to Chattanooga as fast as 
possible. There the destitution and suffering have been, and must 
for some time be, very great. Yet, you must not construe what I 
write here, or have written above, as an implied censure of the 
medical officers of the army. I know how persistently the Medical 
Director of the army labored to procure transportation for his sup- 
plies, and how ready he was to aid us in procuring transportation. 
I know also that war is and must be cruel, and situated as our army 



130 SAXITAHY COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPAETME^TT. 

was before Chattauooga. even niercv to the wounded required that 
the army. yes. and the liorses should be fed. although the wottnded 
suffered until the battle was over. Over roads the difliculties of 
which no one will appreciate until he has tried them, supplies had 
to be carried for men and horses whose strength and endurance 
alone could save all of the wotmded from the hardships and desti- 
tution which the wounded prisoners wotild encounter at the hands 
of rebels. It is now believed that General Eoseerans has been 
heavily reinforced. If so. Chattanooga will be permanently held. 
and easier commtinication established by the river and by rail. The 
shorter carriage road over Lookout Mountain, whielt has been 
blown up to prevent a flank movement vill he reopened, and we 
shall probably be able to send forward additional supplies as fast as 
yoTi can get them here. Thus far no tiuK- has been lost, for we 
have had all we could get transportation for. and by the time a 
new shipment can reach us we hope to secure transportation for all 
you can send us. If. when this reaches you. the telegrams from the 
front advise yott that we still hold Chattanooga, my advice would 
be to send of all supplies as large quantities as possible, for I 
believe that already this battle is one of the bloodiest of the war. 
Our loss must already l)e greater than it was at Stone Eiver. and I 
do not believe the rebels Avill fall back before our reinforced army 
without another desperate struggle. 

Among the stores distribttted at Chattanooga, especial mention 
ought to be made of a box of excellent •■ arm-slings" from the Aid 
Society in Pittsburgh. Though not as many as the arms needing 
such a support, they were valued beyond price by every man who 
secured one, and were in every respect a valuable article. 
Yours, verv respectfully. 

M. C. Eead, 

Belief Agent. 

BATTLE OF CHATTAXOOGA. 

U. S. Sanitary Commission, 
Louisville. Ky.. December 7. 1S63. 
Dr. J. Foster Jexkixs, 

General Secretary^ Xetc York: 

My Dear Doctor — I have just returned from Chattanooga, 
where I have passed the last two weeks, and from a tour of inspec- 
tion through the chain of Agencies of the Commission which 



BATTLE OF CHATTAIs^OOGA. 131 

extends from Louisville to that point. It chanced, luckily enough, 
that I was at Chattanooga through all the exciting scenes of the 
recent battles, and was able to contribute something to the success 
which attended the efforts of the agents of the Commission to 
relieve the wants and suffering of the wounded. 

As you are, doubtless, anxious to learn more than you yet know 
of the recent important events to which I have referred, and more 
particularly how fully the Commission has sustained its responsi- 
bilities, I hasten to make my report as promptly as possible, and 
shall make it as full as the great pressure of other duties will 
permit. 

As a pre-requisite to a clear understanding of the military 
operations and the work of the Commission in and about Chatta- 
nooga, and a proper appreciation of the difficulties overcome, it is 
quite necessary that any one should have gone over the ground 
himself; and I trust at no distant day you may be able to see with 
your own eyes some of the enemies, more formidable than rebel 
hosts, which our noble army have overcome in gaining and holding 
the positions from which the recent battles were fought and victories 
won. Until I had been myself at Chattanooga, I had no just 
appreciation, even with description after description, of the daring 
and energy which have led General Eosecrans to follow to the very 
heart of its mountain fastnesses the retreating army of General 
Bragg, and after overcoming obstacles at first sight insurmountable, 
to seize and hold the key to all the lines of communication through 
this great mountain labyrinth. 

From near Tullahoma to Chattanooga, the whole interval is 
occupied with mountains of formidable height, terminating later- 
ally in precipitous escarpments, separated by deep and narrow 
vaUeys, over which even a footman finds his way painful and 
perilous. In justice to those who planned and executed the military 
movements prior and preparatory to the late victories, I must say 
that our people of the ^N'orthern States have no proper appreciation 
of what our army has done and suffered in reaching and holding 
Chattanooga, and I am sure if all could see what I have seen, of 
difficulties overcome, hardships endured, and privations so cheer- 
fully suffered, there would be much less than there has been, of 
flippant criticism of the soldiers and the generals of the Army of 
the Cumberland. . 



132 SAK^ITARY COMMISSIOisT — WESTERN DEPARTMEN^T. 

But if the country is more rough and difficult for military 
operations than any which our armies have occupied, it is also 
picturesque and beautiful beyond anything I have seen in the Valley 
of the Mississippi. Its climate, judging by the specimens we have 
had of it, is in the highest degree delightful and salubrious. Chat- 
tanooga itself must have been, before blasted and cursed by the 
rebellion, one of the most charming places on the continent. It 
stands in the Valley of the Tennessee, shut in on all sides by 
picturesque mountains, from a thousand to two thousand feet in 
height, while the town itself is in part perched on eminences of two 
or three hundred feet, from which the lowlands, reaching to the 
base of the mountains, are all clearly visible. When, therefore, I 
tell you that the late battles were fought in a semicircle around 
these points of view, in the plain or on the mountain side, never 
more than three miles distant, you will concede that those of us 
who were present enjoyed an oppportunity of witnessing military 
evolutions, all the varied phases of attack and defense, by artillery 
and infantry, of assault and repulse, of victory and defeat, such as 
has fallen to the lot of few since Priam watched the struggle 
between the Greeks and Trojans from the walls of Troy. 

My business, however, is with the noble spirits who fell in these 
glorious charges, and it is with no ordinary satisfaction that I can 
say that, thanks to the proximity of the battle fields to suitable 
receptacles for the wounded, and to the prompt and potent aid that 
the Sanitary Commission, with its abundant stores and active faith- 
ful agents, was able to render, none of those cases of neglect or 
protracted suffering, which have been considered as inseparable 
attendants upon the carnage and confusion of battle fields, so far 
as I know, were permitted to occur. I do not exaggerate when I 
say that the wounded in no considerable battle since the war began 
have been so well and promptly cared for. And I can say, with 
eciual confidence, tliat the aid rendered by tlie Sanitary Commission 
has never been more i)rompt and efficient, more heartily welcomed, 
or more highly appreciated. 

Owing to the difficulties of transportation — difficulties which 
had prevented the issue of full rations to the army — our stock of 
stores on hand previous to the battle was not as large as could have 
been wished, but avc were constantly accorded even more than our 
full share of sucli facilities for transport as were at command of the 



OUR CHATTAJTOOGA AGEXCY. 133 

Quartermaster's Department, and fresli supplies of the most needed 
articles, including all the staples of battle stores, continued to 
arriye so that our warehouse was constantly replenished, and every 
requisition was promptly filled. Of concentrated beef, milk, 
stimulants of all kinds, compresses, bandages, dried fruit, vege- 
tables, shirts and drawers, we had a sufficient supply to meet every 
demand. 

In order that you may see precisely how our work was done, 
permit me to take up, in the order of their succession, the principal 
events connected with it during my stay at Chattanooga : 

Toward midnight of Saturday, the 20th of November, in com- 
pany with Dr. Soule, I arrived at Kelly's Ferry, ten miles below 
Chattanooga. Here we were hospitably entertained by Mr. W. A. 
Sutliffe, our agent. As I shall have occasion to return to this point 
in the progress of my narrative, I will defer reference to the great 
good W9rk he has been doing here, for the present. 

On Sunday morning we started for Chattanooga on foot. Kelly's 
Ferry was at this time the head of navigation — the river being 
blockaded above by the rebels — and all supplies were transported 
from this point to Chattanooga in wagons. As a consequence, we 
found the road for miles blocked up by trains going and returning, 
all hurrying to accomplish their almost impossible duty of prevent- 
ing the army above from perishing by actual starvation. Crossing 
Eaccoon Mountain, we came into Wills' Valley, where we found 
Hooker's forces occupving the vantage-ground gained by the night 
descent of the river, and came into full view of the rebel encamp- 
ments on the sides, and rebel batteries on the summit of Lookout 
Mountain. From the latter, from time to time, came a puff of white 
smoke, and the sullen boom of the forty-pound Parrotts which 
had continued day after day to throw shells, fortunately without 
practical result, sometimes into Chattanooga above, sometimes into 
Wills' Valley below their commanding position. Descending the 
valley, we crossed the river at Brown's Ferry, and traversing an 
isthmus some two miles in width, recrossed the river to the town of 
Chattanooga. At this time large detachments of Sherman's and 
Hooker's forces were leaving their encampments in Wills' Valley, 
and moving up the river, nobody knew whither. 

In Chattanooga I found our Agency in charge of M. C. Eead, 
occupying fine rooms which, with characteristic partiality, the 



lo-i SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — AVESTEEX DEPARTMEXT. 

cUitborities had assigned to our use by displacing the Chief of 
Police, who had preyionslv occnpied them. 

Soon after my arrivah I called on the Medical Director. Dr. 
Perin. by T^iioni I was most cordially received, and was gratified to 
hear him express not only a high respect and appreciation for the 
Commission, but strong testimony to the value of our Agency at 
this point to him and to the army, as well as to the energy and 
discretion of our chief representative. Mr. Read. 

The corps of agents on duty at Chattanooga was as follows: 
M. C. Eead, in charge; Eev. W. F. Loomis, Hospital Visitor; P. R. 
Crary, Storekeeper, with two detailed men as assistants ; W. D. Bart- 
lett, Agent of Hospital Directory; A. H. Sill, Transportation Clerk. 

With Mr. Eead I called at several of the head-quarters, and from 
all the officials heard only kind words for the Commission, and 
assurances of their high appreciation of its work, and their readiness 
to co-operate with it by all means in their power. 

Chattanooga was formerly a town of about four thousand inhab- 
itants, some fine public buildings, and with many pleasant residences 
with ornamented grounds and groves of beautiful trees, but now 
terribly desecrated and defaced ; fences of all enclosures gone, fruit 
and ornamental trees alike cut down for fire-wood ; all vacant spaces 
covered with huts and tents; the more prominent points crowned 
with strong fortifications; the whole surrounded by rifle-pits and 
lines of circumvallation. 

On Sunday evening a large part of the 11th Army Corps came 
up from below, passed through town with three days' rations in 
their haversacks, and took their position, without tents or baggage, 
in front of the fortifications. On Monday our forces moved out, 
formed in double line of battle, several miles in length, with reserves 
posted in the rear, threw out skirmishers, and made a general 
advance, taking possession of the first line of the enem\^s entrench- 
ments, and occupied Orchard Knob, in the center of the valley, on 
which batteries were planted. This advance was made in excellent 
order, the ambulances following close in the rear, and though the 
skirmishing extended along the whole line, the number of wounded 
was comparatively small, and they were immediately picked up and 
carried into the hospitals in town. On Tuesday General Sherman, 
having crossed the river three miles above, advanced without serious 
opposition and took possession of the north end of Mission Eidge. 



LOOKOUT AI^D MISSIOK RIDGE. 135 

On the morning of the same day, General Hooker moved up 
from Wills' A^alley and attacked the rebel forces occupying Lookout 
Mountain, and by a most daring assault, gained possession of all 
the northern portion, with the capture of many prisoners, and the 
loss of but two hundred and fifty killed and wounded. The latter 
were immediately carried to the hospital established near his head- 
quarters, where they were well cared for by their own officers — sup- 
plies being sent to them from our depot at Kelly's Ferry, near by. 
Early the next morning, Mr. Eead and Mr. Sill went down and saw 
that all the aid which the Commission could render was furnished 
to them. 

On Tuesday night, the north end of Lookout Mountain and 
Mission Kidge were aglow with the camp-fires of our forces, and we 
had the satisfaction of knowing that, by a most brilliant achieye- 
ment, the blockade of the river was raised, and advantages had been 
gained which promised important results in the impending struggle 
of the morrow. 

Wednesday morning our flag floated from the summit of 
Lookout, and our forces advanced on the whole stronghold of 
Mission Eidge from our right, left, and front. After much severe 
fighting on our left, in which Sherman's forces sufi'ered heavy loss, 
the rebel entrenchments along the base of Mission Eidge were 
stormed by our advancing lines, and then began that perilous but 
glorious ascent of one thousand feet at six difi'erent points, which 
so surprised and appalled the rebel garrison, and has crowned with 
glory the brave men who dared attempt it. After an hour of 
suspense, inexpressibly painful to the thousands who were mere 
powerless spectators, the summit was gained and held, the roar of 
the forty pieces of artillery which crowned it was silenced, and we 
knew that a great victory had been won. 

Two wagons had been secured beforehand with which to transport 
stores to any point where they might be required, but no part of 
the battle field being more than three miles distant from head- 
quarters, and ample provision having been made by the Medical 
Director for the immediate removal of the wounded to hospital, 
they were held in readiness to use if needed. M. C. Eead and 
myself, with a small supply of stores, went over to the middle line 
of Mission Eidge, while Mr. Loomis went toward its northern end 
to see if any help were required by the wounded of Sherman's 



136 SAXITART COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

corps. By miduiglit all the Union wounded men on that point of 
the field which we visited had been transferred to hospital, and such 
of the rebels as remained in the houses to which they had been 
carried had received all the aid we could give them; so at one o'clock 
we returned to the town. Just as we arrived, Mr. Loomis came in 
and reported that the wounded of the loth Army Corps had all 
been gathered into their division hospitals, but that their expected 
supplies had not arrived, and they were greatly in need of our 
assistance. A wagon load of milk, beef, crackers, tea, sugar, stimu- 
lants, dressings, etc.. was immediately disj^atched to them, and was, 
as may be imagined, of priceless value. 

Early the next morning (Thanksgiving day) 3Ir. Eead and 
myself visited the hospitals of the 2d, 3d and 4th Divisions of the 
loth Army Corps, situated three miles up the river. The ith. 
containing the largest number of wounded, (three hundred and 
ninety-nine,) we found pretty well supplied for the time being with 
the stores we had sent up the night before, but these were rapidly 
disapjDearing, and, at our suggestion, another load was sent for and 
received during the day. The 2d and 3d Division hospitals, situated 
on the bank of the river, at the point crossed by Sherman's forces, 
containing respectively seventy-five and two hundred and thirty 
patients, had received, up to this time, no other supplies than such 
as had been carried in their medicine-wagons — sufficient to meet 
the first wants of the wounded, but by this time almost entirely 
exhausted. Just as I was ofi'ering to Dr. Rogers, the surgeon in 
charge of the 3d Division hospital, the resources of the Sanitary 
Commission, one of the assistant surgeons approached and said 
to him : '• Doctor, what shall we do ? Our supplies have not arrived, 
our men are lying on tlie ground, with not blankets enough to 
make them comfortable. We've no stimulants, or dressings, or 
proper food. Xow, if the Sanitary Commission only had an agent 
here, we should be all right.'' I was happy to inform him that the 
spirit he invoked had come at his call, and when J promised him 
that in an hour's time he should have concentrated beef, milk, 
stimulants, dressings, fruit, vegetables, clothing, bedding, and some 
ticks stuff*cd with cotton, his satisftiction shone from every feature, 
and both he and the surgeon in charge spontaneously ejaculated, 
"Bless the Sanitary Commission" — an institution of which they 
had had abundant experience on the Mississippi, where the kind 



137 

and efficient ministrations of Dr. Warriner were remembered with 
pleasure and gratitude. 

In these remarks J would not be understood as implying any 
neglect on the part of the responsible medical authorities, for I have 
only to say that General Sherman's Medical Director is Surgeon 
John Moore, TJ. S. A., to give all who know this officer an assurance 
that his duty was done fully and well; but, as a consequence of the 
difficulties of transportation to which I have before referred, and 
which specially affected the newly-arrived troops, his supplies were 
delayed, and there was an opportunity for the Commission to render 
its assistance in the manner I have described. 

On Thanksgiving afternoon occurred the bloody fight at Eing- 
gold, in which we lost, in killed and wounded, five hundred men. 
Most of these wounded were soon brought into Chattanooga, but 
our stores, which were promptly sent, and in abundance, reached 
them in good time, and became of priceless value to them. 

During the week succeeding these battles, through which I 
remained at Chattanooga, large quantities of stores were daily issued 
from our rooms to all the hospitals in the vicinity ; timely arrivals 
of the more important articles compensating for the heavy drafts 
on our stock. Of the kind and quantity of goods thus issued, 
you will in due time get a full account from the storekeeper, 
Mr. Crary. 

The subsequent advance of our forces toward Knoxville was 
accompanied by two of the three steamers plying on the river, 
both loaded with supplies. By this means our transportation was 
again reduced to its minimum, and for a few days, in common with 
all departments of the army, we shall be able to put forward a 
smaller quantity of supplies thao could be advantageously used. 
We calculate, however, upon a continuance of the cordial co-operation 
of General Meigs, Dr. Perin, and the other military and medical 
authorities, and the good work which we have been doing will not 
be permitted to languish. 

Before leaving Chattanooga, I must again express my high 
appreciation of the professional and official merit of the responsible 
heads of the Medical Department — Dr. Perin, Medical Director of 
the Department of the Cumberland, and Dr. Finley, Post Medical 
Director — as of the earnest and faithful corps of surgeons, by whom 
their efforts -in behalf of the wounded have been so ably seconded. 



138 SAXITAHY C0M:MISSI0X — WESTEEX DEPARTMEIiTT. 

At the risk of seeming to see all the working of the Medical 
Department at this point en couleur de rose. I must say that no 
instance of incompetence or unfaithfulness was revealed by my 
observations; but. on the contrary, I found very much to admire 
in the zeal and success exhibited by all the corps of surgeons, who, 
with inadequate accommodations and limited materials, were able 
to make the wounded more immediately and entirely comfortable 
than could have been expected or hoped. I am sure it would have 
quieted some of the fears entertained by our people in regard to 
the faithfulness of surgeons and nurses, if they could have seen 
with what sincere gratitude these acce^^ted at our hands the means 
of ministering to the wants of the poor fellows in their charge; 
and frequent visits to the hospitals showed me that the wounded 
soldiers did actually receive and greatly profit by the gifts of our 
loyal women of the ^NTorth. Whatever may have occurred at other 
times and places, I am sure that after the battle of Chattanooga 
there was neither opportunity nor inclination on the part of sur- 
geons or nurses to misappropriate stores furnished by the Sanitary 
Commission; and the Metropolitan Police, who enabled us to dis- 
tribute to the sufferers the rare and much-prized gifts of sound, 
fresh lemons; the loyal women who stitched the shirts and drawers, 
who rolled the bandages and made the arm-slings; the Aid Socie- 
ties and Branch Commissions who have sent us so liberallv of dried 
and canned fruits, of milk and beef, wine, spirits, ale, butter, tea, 
sugar, farina, codfish, and other precious articles which we were 
able to distribute in abundance, may rest assured that here, at least, 
they have accomplished all the great good which was hoped of them. 

As you will soon have a full report of the Avorking of the Com- 
mission in this Department, from the Eev. Dr. Anderson, it seems 
hardly necessary now for me to do anything further than merely 
allude to the other stations and Agencies which I have just visited. 

Kelly's Ferry was, until lately, the head of navigation for our 
steamers on the Tennessee, and is still a very important depot for 
the transhipment of Government stores. It is ten miles from 
Chattanooga by land, and about forty miles by the river from 
Bridgeport. Immediately after the battles at Chickamauga, the 
Rev. 0. Kennedy established a Lodge here for passing soldiers; and, 
since he removed to Bridgeport, the work of supplying their wants 
and of attending to the reception and shipment of goods, has been 



LODGES AXD FEEDIKG STATIO:S'S. 139 

most faithfully and commendably performed by Mr. W. A. Sntliffe. 
He has been aided in his friendly offices for the sick and wounded 
(large numbers of whom haye been for short periods at this point) 
by the Eey. Mr. Strong. I take great pleasure, too, in acknowledg- 
ing the hearty co-operation of Dr. Failor, the zealous surgeon of 
the post, and of Lieutenant Colonel Cahill, of the 16th Illinois, 
commandant of the post, who has always been ready to aid the 
agents of the Commission in forwarding goods in eyery possible 
way, and especially by detailing men to serye as guards for our 
wagons, and likewise for the accumulated supplies at the landing. 

Bridgeport is becoming an important point in our chain of 
Agencies between ]S"ashyille and Chattanooga, haying a large field 
hospital, most admirably managed by Dr. Wm. Varian, U. S. V. 
To him we are indebted for most yaluable aid in establisliing our 
depot and Lodge. The warehouse, formed of seyeral large hospital 
tents, has been carefully arranged by Dr. Coates, Mr. Pierce and 
Mr. Pococke, conyeniently near the railroad station and the field 
hospital ; while the Lodge, under the care of Mr. Kennedy and two 
detailed men, is close upon the steamboat landing. 

At Steyenson we haye now no Agency, but it is adyisable to 
re-establish one there soon. The "Alabama House" has been 
offered to the Commission by the Quartermaster, to be used as a 
Home, and it is probable that we shall ayail ourselyes of it, thereby 
at the same time creating a blessing and abolishing a nuisance. 
Steyenson is an important location, and now has no suitable accom- 
modations for either officers or men, sick or well. 

Murfreesboro was for a while yirtually abandoned, when the 
army adyanced; but large numbers of hospital patients are hence- 
forth to be placed there. We haye, therefore, re-opened an Agency 
and occupy a spacious warehouse, with Mr. E. L. Jones in charge. 
Yours respectfully, 

J. S. ^EWBEERY, 

Sccrelari/ Western Department. 

CENTRAL KEXTUCKT AND EAST TENNESSEE 

IN 1863. 

It had been, from the commencement of the war, a 
favorite scheme of President Lincoln to relieve the Union 
men of East Tennessee from their bondage by opening a 



140 SAIs^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

route from Keiitnck}" to Knoxville, and occupying tlie 
Valley of East Tennessee witli an adequate Federal army. 
The railroad project was not carried ont; but, in tlie 
summer of 1863, General Burnside, witli the 9th Army 
Corps, was sent to Kentuck}^, and in the autumn this force 
moved forward, and became the army of occupation of 
Knoxville. While gathering for this expedition, the troops 
were quartered in Central Kentucky, and Camp ]N"elson 
was made the base of supplies. So important a situation 
did this become, that it w^as thought best to establish an 
Agency of the Sanitaiy Commission there. This was 
done, and Mr. Thomas Butler, one of our most expe- 
rienced agents, previously at Lexington, was placed in 
charge of it. 

After the occupation of Knoxville by General Burnside, 
as it was considered desirable to make this also a Sanitaiy 
station. Professor R. IST. Strong, a former resident of Knox- 
ville, was engaged to represent us there, wdiile Mr. Butler, 
after remaining a time at Camp Nelson, went with a train 
of w^agons loaded with stores, by the road over the moun- 
tains, to stock that depot. After encountering great diffi- 
culties, he reached Knoxville on Christmas Day, and from 
that day to the close of the war Knoxville was one of our 
first-class Agencies. The experience of Mr. Butler, in his 
efforts to reach Knoxville, is described in the following 
letter, which well illustrates the trials, hardships and 
dangers tliat attended mucli of our woi'k : 

Knoxville, East Tenn., December 26, 18C3. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission, Louisville: 
Dear 8ir — In compliance with instructions received on the 
eve of your depcartiire for Chattanooga, six thousand pounds of the 
clioicest stores were sliipped from Louisville, and duly received and 
stored at Camp Nelson, to await transportation by the first train 
for Knoxville, East Tenn. 



THE KNOXVILLE AGEKCY. 141 

On my arrival at Camp JSTelson I found that a large shipment 
of stores, much more varied in kind, had heen sent to my care, for 
the same destination, by the Cincinnati Branch. Orders for trans- 
portation for both shipments having been received separately from 
General Burnside, would have been promptly honored by Captain 
Hall, Assistant Quartermaster at Camp Nelson, had not the 
presence of Longstreet's rebels and sundry guerilla forces on the 
various routes forbidden transportation to Knoxville. Under these 
circumstances, seven or eight days were unavoidably lost; but the 
great impediments were finally removed on the second day of the 
present month.- A train of seventy teams was, in the space of one 
day, prepared for the journey, six of which were ordered to trans- 
port our stores. 

Having previously calculated on loading two thousand pounds 
to each team, the transportation furnished might have been 
sufficient, but the Assistant Quartermaster, being better advised 
of the condition of the roads, imperatively restricted each team 
to twelve hundred pounds, thus making it necessary to leave for 
the next train some of the less important boxes and barrels. 

Leaving Camp Nelson on the 3d, we reached the foot of "Big 
Hill " at noon on the 7th, without trouble or adventure. Notwith- 
standing that the guerillas had appeared in Mount Sterling, Ky., 
and were frequently reported in the vicinity of our train, we did 
not see them. We had been so far favored with a good road that we 
made moderate progress, but now the Big Hill was before us. The 
ascent, though only one mile, occupied two of the hardest days' 
work that we had yet known, and involved considerable destruction 
of mules, harness and teams. 

From the foot of Big Hill we look in vain for anything but 
rocks and ruts; consequently a few miles — from three to fifteen — 
suffice for a day's travel. Stores are ruinously jolted, boxes and 
barrels unavoidably break, while rarely a day passes without a team 
being capsized into a creek or river, or down a precipice. 

We reached Camp Pitman on the 13th, distant from Camp 
Nelson about eighty-five miles. 

Through the wagon master of our train I obtained an order 
from Captain Hall, which made our train independent of the 
brigade train, and consequently put an end to the annoying delays 
to which we had been repeatedly subjected. 



142 SANITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN^ DEPARTMEN^T. 

At Camp Pitman I found the 51st New York regiment, guard- 
ing the post, and the assistant surgeon. Dr. Burd, was doing good 
among numberless obstacles. 

In nearly every house, from the top of Big Hill, I found that 
soldiers, in every degree of disease, had been left upon the hospi- 
tality and care of the people. In one house I found six soldiers 
occupying beds and the constant attention of a widow lady and her 
two daughters. The poor, sick and weary men were unable to 
proceed any further, and these patriotic Samaritans, whose brothers 
were among our soldiers in the field, were, out of their scanty 
means, administering to their relief and comfort. 

Having received information of such necessities before leaving 
Camp Nelson, I had provided a quantity of beef extract, milk, 
crackers, an assortment of woolen under-wear, and sundry other 
things which I found were actually required by men sick, hungry 
and naked. 

I found Dr. Burd collecting these poor fellows, and affording 
all aid possible within his power. He had procured a building, 
which he had made as comfortable as his resources would allow, 
and he strove arduously to make his miscellaneous hospital as 
effective as the emergency demanded. I was gratified in being 
able to furnish him with a variety of stores for his sick patients, 
for I know him to be one of the kindest and most faithful of men. 

During the forenoon of the 16th inst. I reached a house on 
Lincamp's Creek, and saw two men working at a coffin. After 
some enquiries I learned that, twelve days previously, a soldier had 
stopped at the house, complaining of chronic diarrhoea and rheuma- 
tism. The people shared their morsel with him, and employed 
their limited knowledge of medicine for his relief. The poor 
fellow also suffered with colic, which finally set in as an adjunct to 
his complicated disorders, and tortured him until he threw his 
armor down for his long rest in a mountain grave. I desired the 
sergeant of the guard to ascertain his effects, and finding only 
ninety cents, I threw the sum over to the poor family as a very 
small remuneration for their attention to the soldier. 

Turning one day, a mile from the road, I found a grave, wliich 
I was informed contained six soldiers who had died in the neigh- 
borliood; but no liuman scribe was found to register their names 
ere death made them oblivious to all but God. 



LOYALTY OF EAST TENN"ESSEE. 143 

While so many soldiers, sick and debilitated, were passing over 
the mountains towards Camp Nelson, in most cases totally depend- 
ent on the meager hospitality of the people, I ardently wished that 
this rude section of the country had resources similar to those of 
more favored people ; for with all their poverty and abject indigence, 
which nearly every dwelling in some counties presented, I never 
knew a soldier denied participation in their meal of corn bread and 
bacon ; vegetables, milk, butter, sugar and coffee being great rarities 
among them. 

Dwelling generally in what we would term miserable log houses, 
squalid women and children live month after month on their very 
scanty fare, and tell the stranger — soldier or citizen — of the fathers 
and sons in the Union army. 

The winter is now upon them, and they are ragged. Their corn 
is about eaten and they have little or no money to buy more, if 
perchance one might be found to sell. The alarming alternative 
is only too visible, and they shrink from it with dread. The neces- 
sities of the government service had aided very materially in the 
exhaustion of their staple product, so that now there is almost 
nothing along the route to Cumberland Gap for either man or 
beast. That they will need much and suffer extremely, if unaided 
in their need during the winter, is indisputable, and as they are 
proverbial for their fidelity to the Government, and have invariably 
befriended our sick straggling soldiers, they should receive practical 
sympathy to the extent of our ability and their necessity. A word 
to philanthropists is sujB&cient. 

Before leaving Camp Pitman we obtained a new supply of mules, 
harness and wagon tongues, also, a large amount of forage. No 
event, except such as have become of common occurrence, trans- 
pired until we passed through Cumberland Gap on the 20th inst, 
when a rumor v/as afloat that no train would be allowed to pass on 
the direct road to Knoxville, as the rebels were infesting that por- 
tion of the country. By the advice of the Post Commandant we 
took the Jacksboro road, though twenty miles further, as it was 
considered safe. 

Leaving Cumberland Gap on the evening of the 21st, we made 
better progress, while the forty guards, who had heretofore been 
employed in assisting the teams, were ordered by the officer in 
command to march in advance of the train under arms. 



144 SANITARY COMMISSIOJS^ — WESTEEK DEPARTMENT. 

Seyeral encounters had taken place in our vicinity between 
Generals Wilcox and Longstreet only a few days previously, and 
others were pending, while the cannonading was distinctly audible 
in our train. 

There was marked anxiety among the guard to protect the train 
to Knoxville, as they knew the great need which existed in the 
hospitals there. 

On the evening of the 24th inst., we encamped twenty-two miles 
from Knoxville, and on the following morning I started on horse- 
back, arriving in the recently besieged city before noon. 

I soon met with our agent, Mr. E. N. Strong, who was expecting 
me, and had procured two store rooms adjoining each other. The 
train arriving on the following evening, the stores were transferred 
to the building on the morning of the 27th inst. I was surprised 
to find so little damage done to the stores, a few pounds of crackers 
and dried apples were the amount of the loss, after so long a 
journey over such miserable roads. 

There are in Knoxville five hospitals, having their branches, 
and containing nearly two thousand patients. While the Commis- 
sary has been recently well replenished, the supplies of the Medical 
Department were scanty. Our stores were anxiously expected, and 
they were joyfully received. 

On Monday, the 28th inst., Mr. Crary arrived from Chattanooga 
with three hundred packages of select stores. Other shipments 
have been arranged for by way of Chattanooga. I am gratified with 
the intelligence that the river is opened for transportation from 
Bridgeport to Knoxville, so that our stores may not be subjected 
again to such delay as on this journey, however unavoidable. 

Very respectfully, yours, 

Thomas Butler. 

8 A N 1 'r A R y ¥ A 1 E S . 

Among the measures adopted for procuring hospital 
suj)i)lies for the army, none were more potent tlian the 
Sanitary Fairs ; and there have been, perha})s, no more 
sti'iking exhibitions of the enthusiastic patriotism of our 
])eopl(' thau tliese afforded. Tt is doubtful, indcH^d, wliether 
aii\' phase of the work of Hie Sanitary Commission will in 



SANITARY FAIRS. 145 

the future excite more interest and wonder, or exert greater 
moral influence tlian these Fairs, in which wliole commu- 
nities joined with such enthusiasm and unanimity; and 
where, without distinction of party or sect, the friends of 
the country and humanity united in eiforts productive of 
contributions of liundreds of thousands— in two cases of 
more than a million— of dollars to a benevolent fund. 

Whatever credit is due for the conception of the plan, 
and the inauguration of the series of Sanitary Faks which 
characterized the later years of the war, belongs to the 
West, and to Cliicago, where the first Fair was held, in 
October, 1863. Seventy-two tliousand dollars were the net 
proceeds of this Fair. 

The following extract from the liistory of this pioneer 
of the Sanitary Fairs well illustrates the spirit with which 
all these wonderful exhibitions of charity were conducted : 

The contributions to the Fah% to be sold for the benefit of our 
sick and wounded soldiers, were large, were munificent; but it was 
this tone of deep-seated earnestness which was largest. It was 
not merely what men and women said and did, but the way the 
thing was done, which carried with it this impression of wholesale 
generosity of spirit. Delicately-wrought articles, such as usually 
adorn the tables of Fairs — the work of ladies' hands — were not 
wanting; but then the farmers from miles and miles around kept 
coming in with their wagons by twenties, and fifties, and hundreds, 
loaded down with their bulky farm produce ; others came leading 
horses, or driving before them cows, or oxen, or mules, which they 
contributed instead of money, of which, perhaps, they had none; 
others brought live poultry which had been fed for months by the 
poor man's door ; they brought this because they must bring some- 
thing, and this was all they had. Some wagons were loaded from 
rich dairies, with butter and cheese by the ton. Then came great 
loads of hay from some distant farm, followed by others just as large 
from farms further ofi". The mechanics brought their machines and 
gave them in, one after another — mowing machines, reapers, thrash- 
ing machines, planters, pumps, fanning mills — until a new building, 

10 



146 SANITARY COMMISSIOK — WESTERIs" DEPARTMENT. 

a great storehouse, had to be erected to receive them; and here 
were plows, and stoA^es, and furnaces, and mill stones, and nails 
by the hundred kegs, and wagons, and carriage springs, and axes, 
and plate glass, and huge plates of wrought iron (one, the largest 
that was ever rolled from any rolling mill in the world), block tin, 
enameled leather, hides, boxes of stationery, cases of boots, cologne 
by the barrel, native wine in casks, purified coal oil by the thousand 
gallons, a mountain howitzer, a steel breech-loading cannon, and a 
steam-engine made by the workingmen in one of the manufactories 
of engines in Chicago. Then loaded wagons came in long proces- 
sions, toiling into the city from far-off country places, bearing 
marks of frontier service, and the horses or mules, together with 
the drivers themselves, most of them told of wear. Many of them 
were sun-burnt men, with hard hands and rigid features; and a 
careless observer would have said that there was surely nothing in 
those wagons, as they passed, to awaken any sentiment. Yet some 
thing there was about it all which brought tears to the eyes of 
hundreds, as the old farmers, with their heavy loads, toiled by. 

Among the crowd of spectators there was noticed a broad-shoul- 
dered Dutchman, with a face expressive of anything but thought 
or feeling. He gazed at this singular processi<)n as it passed — the 
sun-burnt farmers, and the long, narrow wagons, and the endless 
variety of vegetables and farm produce; he gazed there as these 
men, with their sober faces and their homely gifts, passed one by 
one, until, when finally the last wagon had moved by, this stolid, 
lethargic-looking man "broke down," with a flood of tears, and 
could say nothing and do nothing but seize upon the little child 
whom he held by the hand, and hug her to his heart, trying to 
hide his manly tears behind her floating curls. 

Cincinnati followed closely witli a Fair of still more 
gigantic dimensions and more snrprising resnlts. The 
Cincinnati Fair opened on Christmas Day, and produced a 
fund of two liundred and tliirty-five thousand dollars. 

Northern Ohio canght the entlnisiasm of the lionr, and 
a Fair held in Cleveland, dni'ing the fortnight succeeding 
the 22d of Februaiy, netted to the Cleveland Branch more 
than seventy-nine thousand dollars. After visiting the 



A TWICE BLESSED CHARITY. 147 

Cleveland Fair, the editor of the Sanitary Reporter wrote 
as follows : 

We cannot but thmk that the good results of such Fairs as have 
been held in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and other cities, are 
not to rest with the contributions to the soldiers' comfort alone — are 
not to be estimated in so many dollars for socks, sour-kront, onions 
and potatoes. To promote the comfort of our soldiers, to be able 
to buy these essentials for the army, is an incalculable good; but 
this charity is " twice blessed." A rich and subtle blessing must lie 
in the wide sympathies called out, the new relations of acquaint- 
ance, friendship and intimacy formed, and in the surprising reve- 
lation of talent and worth in remote and unexplored localities. 
Neighbors and neighborhoods must come to respect each other 
more, to depend upon each other more, and wonder that they have 
missed finding each other out so long. Prejudice must be softened; 
artificial barriers must give way to a freer intercourse, and tender- 
ness of feeling and judgment must take the place of sour sus- 
picion. After so complete a flooding of all the field of life with the 
resistless tide of a sweet and noble enthusiasm, we cannot but look 
for a new bloom and unexampled harvests. 

Among the important Sanitary events of the closing year 
of the war slionld be ennmerated the second Chicago Fair, 
known as the IN'orth- Western Sanitary Fair, which opened 
May 30, I860, and from which was realized a fnnd of over 
two hundred thousand dollars. 



CHAPTEK ly. 



ZEVIEIsTTS OIF 1864 



THE AR:MT IX GEORGIA. 

DvEixcx 1864, both interest and effort in onr Sanitaiy 
work were centered in Tennessee and ]N"ortli Georgia. By 
far tlie largest portion of the troops employed in this 
Department were gathered there, and no military move- 
ments of magnitude and importance were attempted in 
otlier parts of the held. 

After the battle of Chattanooga, some months were 
devoted to rest, leorganization, and tlie accnmnlation of 
supplies; and it was not until the spring of 1864 that 
General Sherman began his advance southward. His 
army — ninety-eight thousand strong — drove the enemy, 
step by step, from his various points of defense, till the 
campaign was virtually terminated by tlie capture of 
Atlanta, on the 2d day of Sej)tember. 

Tlie events of this ciimpnign liave already become his- 
torical, and it is not lUM'essary tliat they should now be 
recapitulated. Suffice it to say that nearly every mile of 
the interval between Chattanooga and Atlanta was fought 
over, and that some of the engagements, such as those of 
Kesaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Ti-ee, etc., Aveiv among 
the most (l('S])('i-nt(' and bloody of the wiir. The severities 
of the cauqmigii and tlic iiumber of casualties consequent 
ii]>on the l)jittl('s threw ii])oii the Medical Department and 
tlic S;iiiit;iry Coiiiiiiis^ioii nil jmiount of labor and responsi- 
Itility wliicli tested tlieii- <';i]):d)ilities to the utmost. But, 



EFFECTIVE WORK. 149 

thanks to the slowness of the advance and the vigorous 
measures that w^ere adopted for the relief of the sick and 
wounded, they were more effectually cared for, and all 
their wants more fully met, than in any previous campaign 
in this Department. Field hospitals w^ere established in 
the vicinity of every battle field — ^frequently, indeed, under 
fire — and into these the wounded were gathered with so 
great promptness that no cases of suffering fi'om neglect 
and exposure, such as have been reported from the battle 
fields of Fort Donelson and Shiloh, are known to have 
occurred. At convenient points along the railroad, as at 
Kingston, Dalton and Marietta, general hospitals were 
established, which received contributions of sick and 
wounded from the field hospitals, and gave to their inmates 
all the relief they could have received under any circum- 
stances. As these larger hospitals became crowded, the 
hospital trains, organized for this line of communication, 
were freighted with such patients as could bear removal, 
and these were transported, with little suffering or injury, 
to the great hospitals in JSTashville and Louisville. 

In the good work accomplished during this campaign, 
the Sanitary Commission played an important part. A 
large number of experienced agents closely followed 
the advancing army; at every stopping-place a depot of 
supplies was opened, and a corps of field relief agents was 
constantly occupied in visiting battle fields, camps and 
field hospitals, aiding in the first care of the wounded, 
distributing such supplies as iliey could transport, and 
gathering full lists of casualties for the Hospital Directory. 
For the supply of our depots, the military authorities 
permitted us to transport one and sometimes two car-loads 
of stores per day from Chattanooga southward, messengers 
going with each shipment and distributing supplies to the 
different stations as they were needed. Xo fio-ures or tables 



150 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

can give an adeqnate idea of tlie amount and variety of 
work done for tlie relief of tlie sick and wounded at the 
front. And during tlieir transmission to the rear they 
were never lost sight of, nor permitted to suffer from any 
cause which could be removed. 

After lending such assistance as Avas necessary to give 
completeness and efficiency to the hospital trains, the Sani- 
tary Commission established refreshment stations at Kings- 
ton, Dalton, Kesaca and Decherd, where, at convenient 
intervals, the inmates of the hospital cars received all 
necessary medical and surgical care, and such food and 
stimulants as enabled them to accomplish the journey to 
Chattanooga with comparative ease and comfort. 

The work which I have thus briefly sketched was dis- 
tributed among the different departments and agents of the 
Commission in such a way that, though that number was 
large, no confusion occurred, and the greatest possible 
efficiency was secured. Mr. M. C. Read continued in charge 
of the base of supplies at Chattanooga, supervising the 
large amount of work done at that point, and securing the 
transmission of supplies to the front, with promptness and 
regularity. He was assisted by a corps of able and efficient 
men, representing the different departments of our work, 
who, like himself, displayed an earnestness and ability in 
the performance of their duty which deserve the highest 
praise. 

I liave, in the notes previously written, alluded to the 
hospital garden at Chattanooga, and described that at Mur- 
freesboro. All these efforts to compensate for the difficulties 
of transportation of supplies to a country so entirely desti- 
tute were eminently successful, but that at Chattanooga, 
from its magnitude and usefulness, deserves to be specially 
commemorated. No one wlio lias not himself bcn^n present 
with oHi- armies in tli<'ii' ('ain])aigns at the S(mtli, can readily 



HOSPITAL GAEDEiy^, CHATTAJs^OOGA. 151 

appreciate the ciiTiimstaiices in which they were placed, 
and will find it difficult to realize that in a fertile and previ- 
ousIy productive country, our troops should sufi'er to a 
serious extent from scurvy, a disease usually confijied to 
those who, by long residence in the extreme N'orth, on ship- 
board, or in utterly barren districts, are deprived of the 
vegetable nutriment necessary to healtli ; and yet the evi- 
dence is abundant and conclusive that no armies have ever 
suffered more seriously from scurvy than did ours during 
their campaigns in Tennessee. To meet the great want of a 
vegetable diet, felt by our troops, shipments were made by 
the Sanitary Commission, from the Xortli, of sucli quanti- 
ties of potatoes, onions, sour-krout, pickles, etc., as in many 
instances to exliaust the markets from wliich they were 
supplied, and sucli as constituted an aggregate that cannot 
be looked upon ^vithout surprise and admiration, when it is 
considered as an item in the work of a voluntary organiza- 
tion. As, from the difficulties in the way of transportation 
over a long line of imperfect railroad, it was early found 
that the pressing want of a vegetable diet could not be sup- 
plied by shipments from the IN'orth, hospital gardens were 
resorted to as a method of supplying, from the soil of the 
country adjacent to our hospitals, all forms of fresh vegeta- 
bles so much craved and needed by their inmates. The 
garden at Chattanooga included an area of one hundred and 
fifty acres, one hundred acres of which were at one time in 
cultivation for raising garden vegetables. The benefits 
derived from this garden, by both hospitals and camps, 
cannot be over-estimated, and it constituted one of the 
measures of relief to which we can refer Avitli the most 
unqualified pride and satisfaction. 

Further details in regard to the Hospital Gardens will be 
found in a chapter devoted to that subject in Part II of this 
Keport. 



152 SAN^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERI^ DEPARTMENT. 

In this cainpaign Dr. A. N. Read liad the general super- 
vision of the work done at the front ; Rev. Mr. Hoblit having 
charge of the Special Relief and Hospital Directory work, 
and Mr. Eno of the Feeding Stations along the line of rail- 
road. Each of the Distribnting Stations in the Supply 
Department was in cliarge of some one of our experienced 
agents, who included in their number Mr. Tone, Mr. Craiy 
and Mr. SutlifFe, who had long been in our service. Dr. 
Bariium, now in the employ of the Government, was G-en- 
eral Superintendent of Hospital Transportation. 

Tlie general features of the work of the Sanitary Com- 
mission in the Yalley of the Mississippi during the summer 
of 1864, are described in the following report made by the 
writer in October of that year : 

Louisville, Ky., October 22, 1864. 
Dr. J. Foster Jenkins, 

GeJieial Secretary Sanitary Gommission : 

Dear Sir — In submitting the detailed reports of the different 
departments of our work for the three months ending October 1st, I 
beg leave to preface them by a general summary, presenting in a 
condensed view all the information derived from this and other 
sources, which will be of interest, and have a practical bearing on 
the administration of the Commission. 

Our attention, as well as that of the public, has in a great degree 
centered in that great move on the military chess-board, the advance 
of Sherman's army into the heart of Georgia, and ihe succession of 
battles and victories culminating in the capture of Atlanta. Most 
of the events connected with that campaign occurred in a previous 
quarter, and, so far as they had a bearing on our work, have been 
previously reported to you. 

Although, to a greater or less degree, embarrassed by the inter- 
ruption of communication with the front, and by the want of trans- 
portation, which we shared with every brancli of the service, up to 
the time of the capture of Atlanta we were able to keep with the 
army so large a working force, provided with so generous a supply of 
stores, that we were at all times prepared to fnrnisli to those needing 



A SUEVEY OF THE FIELD. 153 

it such an amount of material and manual aid as to considerably 
soften the hardships of an arduous campaign, and fully sustain the 
reputation and responsibilities of the Commission. 

The number of our agents paralyzed or removed by sickness 
rendered it necessary to send so large reinforcements to the field 
that our corps presented a more formidable array of names than 
ever before ; compelling us to draw more largely on our privileges 
of passes and transportation than has ever before been necessary. 
In addition to this, a host of civilians, representing other benevolent 
organizations, or pursuing individual aims of a philanthropic or 
mercenary nature, reckoned themselves, or were reckoned by the 
military authorities — who, since the recall of General Hosecrans, 
have never been careful to discriminate between the good and bad, 
the true and the false — in the category of "Sanitary agents," of 
whom, at one time, eighty per week were receiving passes and transr 
portation from Chattanooga to the front. Impelled by a desire to 
abate this clear and formidable abuse, a step rendered necessary by 
the difificulties surrounding the transportation of supplies to the 
army, General Sherman issued a peremptory order prohibiting, with 
a few rare exceptions, the access of all civilians to the forces at the 
front, and limiting the number of our agents in the field. Under 
this order we were permitted to keep but two resident agents at 
Atlanta — a smaller number than was desirable to sustain all the 
departments of our work, and yet, with the detailed help and other 
facilities cheerfully furnished us, sufficient to prevent serious embar- 
rassment. The interests of the Commission with Sherman's army, 
and all along the line of communication with that army, are now 
in the hands of our most experienced and efficient agents, all 
important absentees having returned to duty; and 1 have entire 
confidence that we shall enjoy in the future, as we have done for 
three years past, all facilities and privileges necessary for the 
thorough performance of our work. 

Dr. Eead having recovered from the serious illness which com- 
pelled him to withdraw, has returned to take the supervision of the 
field work in General Sherman's army. We may be sure that, 
guided by his wisdom, it will not languish, nor be badly done. 

At Chattanooga, the Agency is again under the care of M. C. 
Eead, who, with Mr. Hosford, has recently returned from sick fur- 
lough. The absence of both these gentlemen has been seriously 



15-1: SAXITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

felt, and I congratulate myself that they are again at their posts, in 
the enjoyment of full physical vigor, and the exercise of the rare 
faculties which they possess. 

The garden at Chattanooga, under the management of Mr. Wills, 
has more than accomplished our anticipations of its usefulness. 
The entire issues from it during the season to October 1st, have 
been ten thousand and twenty-three bushels of potatoes, tomatoes, 
beans, &c., and one thousand seyen hundred and eighty-four dozen 
of corn, melons, squashes and cabbage, with a large store of fall 
crops still remaining. 

At Knoxyille, we have suffered serious loss in the death of Mr. 
J. H. Milliken, a most estimable and efficient man, who had the 
superintendence of the Agency after the departure of Dr. Seymour. 
His place has since been filled by Mr. T. Y. Gardner, who is no less 
worthy of our respect and esteem. The hospital garden, in charge 
of Mr. Culbertson, although less extensive than that at Chattanooga, 
has played a no less important part in the supply of the hospitals 
there. During the month of September, Mr. Culbertson distributed 
from the garden two hundred and seventy-seven bushels of toma- 
toes ; two hundred and sixty-four bushels of beans ; six thousand 
three hundred and forty-seven dozen cucumbers (mostly pickles); 
one thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine lieads of cabbage, etc. 

The Feeding Stations at Kingston, Dalton, Decherd, etc., have 
formed a most important, indeed, indispensable portion of our work, 
during the last quarter. Under the general supervision of Mr. Eno, 
and individually managed by Mr. Brundrett, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Sutliffe and Dr. Hillman, they have supplied food and all needed 
care to nearly every sick or wounded man transported from the 
front to the rear, extending their benefits to many thousands, and 
performing a service of incalculable value. 

The Agency at Nashville has continued under the supervision of 
Judge Eoot, and has been most wisely conducted, and highly pros- 
perous. With its business offices, warehouse, Soldiers' Home and 
agents' quarters, each occupying a distinct building, the Sanitary 
Commission at Nashville is a very conspicuous institution, yet I am 
sure it uses to excellent purpose the Avide space which it covers. 

The Nashville Home, under the efficient management of Capt. 
Brayton, has become an institution so popular as to be constantly 
filled to overflowing, and has proved so inadequate in capacity to 



IJiTCEEASED EFFICIENCY. 155 

the demand upon it, that the military authorities have promised to 
give us, in exchange for the building now occupied, one of the 
largest hospital buildings in the city. 

At Louisville no changes requiring special mention have 
occurred in our work or our corps of agents. Each department 
is moving on smoothly and with steadily increasing importance. 

The Louisville Home has never before accommodated near so 
many as within the past three months, having been daily crowded 
to its utmost capacity. And such has been the throng of furloughed 
and discharged men passing through the city, that the necessity has 
been laid upon us for the establishment of a similar institution on 
the opposite side of the river, of which mention will be made in 
the notice of the department of Special Relief. The warehouse has 
never been so much crowded with stores as of late, nor the amount 
of goods received and shipped daily near so large. 

The condition of the Hospital Directory will be learned from 
the report of its Superintendent, and I will only say in regard to it 
that the value of its register, now so immense, is receiving constant 
and increasing illastration. Eeports from all the hospitals in this 
Department come in with regularity, and I have reason to believe 
that the great importance of this branch of our work is now fully 
recognized, as well by the military and medical authorities as by 
the people. 

The demand for the Reporter has been gradually increasing, and 
we are now compelled to print an edition of about seven thousand 
five hundred copies. We have satisfactory evidence that we are far 
more than compensated for the expenditure by the influence it 
exerts, in spreading a knowledge of and fostering an interest in our 
work. 

The Pension Agency, but recently established here, has been 
rapidly gaining importance, and has already secured the presenta- 
tion and acceptance of the claims of very many deserving persons, 
too ignorant or too poor to prosecute them without its assistance. 

DISTRICT OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 

The work of the Commission on the Mississippi, so greatly 
reduced by the withdrawal of the Army of the Tennessee, has of 
late claimed more of our attention, from the activity of military 
movements in that quarter. The Agencies of the Commission at 



156 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Cairo, Memphis and Yicksburg have been constantly maintained, 
it is true, and the first of these has grown rather than diminished 
in importance, but the garrisons of the posts along the riyer have 
been comparatively small, requiring only a limited amount of assist- 
ance from us; and the army in Arkansas, mostly composed of 
troops from the Department of the Gulf, has been considered still 
within the Sanitary jurisdiction of Dr. Blake, of New Orleans, and 
has been followed by his representatives, who have, as a general 
rule, looked to him for supplies. 

The prevalence of a scorbutic taint in this army has, however, 
created a demand for such a quantity and such kinds of stores as 
could not be readily supplied from the Atlantic States. In these 
circumstances. Dr. Blake appealed to me for vegetables and other 
anti-scorbutics, and, in answer to this, the "Dunleith'- was fully 
freighted and sent down the Mississippi, delivering half her cargo 
at New Orleans, and distributing the other half at way stations 
along the route. This shipment was most timely, and was wel- 
comed with enthusiasm by Dr. Blake and the military authorities. 
As, however, it furnished but a temporary relief from the wants it 
was intended to meet, it has seemed to me necessary to forward 
further supplies by the same means, and the "Dunleith'' has been 
reloaded and again despatched on the same route. It is scarcely 
possible that the troops on the lower Mississippi and its tributaries 
can receive an adequate supply of anti-scorbutics from any other 
source than the Western States; and should the difficulties now 
existing, of procuring adequate transportation through the Quarter- 
master's Department, continue, it may be desirable to make further 
shipments by steamers chartered for that purpose. 

The business of the Agency at Cairo, as I have intimated, has 
of late been greater than ever, and I cannot speak too highly of the 
zeal and wisdom with which it has been managed by Mr. Shipman. 
The Home at this point has been, for weeks and months past, liter- 
ally inundated with the tide of soldiers that has flowed through it, 
and there are few who see the crowds fed and sheltered there who 
fail to ask themselves what would be the fate of these poor fellows, 
were no such asylum provided for them. 

Ill (•om])liance with the request of the Medical Director, Dr. 
\\ . K. Danforth, approved by Lieutenant Colonel Allen, Medical 
Inspector, I liave recently established a Home at Paducah, under 



REFUGEES IN KANSAS. 157 

the supervision of Mr. Edward D. Way. A commodious building, 
and all other needed facilities, have been provided by the military 
authorities, and I have reason to believe that the Home at this 
point, though not large, will be complete in its appointments, well 
managed, and a great blessing to those who may become inmates 
of it. 

DISTEICT OF KANSAS. 

During the past quarter our work in Kansas has been thor- 
oughly reorganized, and freed from some incumbrances by which 
it was formerly clogged. Our efficient agent there, Mr. J. E. Brown, 
embraced in his wide-spread sympathy every object of compassion 
and charity in any way consequent upon the war, so that the refu- 
gees and contrabands, as well as the sick and wounded of our 
soldiery, found in him a most earnest and devoted friend. So 
untiring and successful was he in his efforts, that he became recog- 
nized by both the people and the military authorities as the great, 
if not the sole, medium through which all cases of want and suffer- 
ing were to be relieved. 

As a natural consequence, he found himself rapidly involved in 
duties and responsibilities which made drafts on his strength and 
resources he was utterly unable to meet. After struggling bravely 
with accumulating difficulties, finally overburdened and discour- 
aged, he applied to me for counsel and assistance. At my sugges- 
tion he accompanied me to New York, and presented the claims of 
the refugees to the officers of the societies formed for their care. 
As I hoped, his appeal was answered at once, and such provisions 
made for the support of both white and black refugees that Mr. 
Brown has relieved himself of all but a general supervision of their 
interests, and has thus been able to give a more undivided atten- 
tion to our work. The present invasion of Missouri, and threat- 
ened invasion of Kansas, have given great activity to military 
operations in this quarter, and I have authorized Mr. Brown to 
employ additional assistance, if necessary, to meet the increased 
demand upon him. 

AVEST VIRGINIA. 

The concentration of troops in the Valley of the Shenandoah 
has withdrawn from AVestern Virginia the larger portion of those 
for whose care we have been in some degree responsible. Our work 



158 SANITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMEKT. 

has, therefore, materially decreased in this District, and I haye 
directed Mr. Fracker to break np the Agency at Marietta and 
transfer any stores to Wheeling, trusting to be able to meet the 
demands arising in this District from that one station. All parts 
of this field have been recently inspected by Dr. Parker, and the 
change I have designated has been made in accordance with his 
recommendation. 

SUPPLY DEPARTMEl^T. 

A marked change has taken place in our work in this Depart- 
ment since the beginning of the war. Then everything was 
needed, of diet, clothing, or medicine, by well men or sick, that 
we could furnish. Now, the number and variety of cases of disease 
in the veteran regiments is comparatively small. The heads of the 
hydra which formerly devoured at such a fearful rate our newly 
recruited forces have been, by various influences, scotched, until 
but two formidable ones remain — scurvy and chronic diarrhoea. 

The resources and methods of the Medical Department have so 
far improved, and its oflScers are now so well trained in their duties, 
that comparatively little is needed from us of clothing, medicine 
and delicacies, of which we formerly supplied such large quantities. 
Our efforts, therefore, of late have been mainly directed to the 
supply of the universal and pressing demand for vegetables and 
other anti-scorbutics, which are not, and cannot be, furnished in 
sufficient quantities through the regular channel. 

During the year past the quantity of potatoes, onions and 
cabbages, fresh and canned tomatoes, krout, pickles, dried apples, 
etc., which we have forwarded to the army has been unprecedent- 
edly large. To procure these, our friends all over the Northern 
States have been actively engaged, and our agents have not only 
visited all our own markets, but also those of Canada. 

The season for the production and distribution of these articles 
had, at the 1st of October, but just commenced ; but our shipment 
of onions, for example, had, up to that time and since the last 
report, exceeded twenty thousand bushels. 

In addition to the supplies just enumerated, soft crackers and 
codfish, not furnished in any considerable quantities by the Com- 
missary Department, have formed an important part of our ship- 
ments. Of stimulants, since they are freely supplied through the 



XATUKE OF SUPPLIES. 159 

regular channel, and are, of all stores, most liable to misappropria- 
tion, we haye forwarded as few as possible. Concentrated beef and 
concentrated milk have been in sucli constant demand, and are 
articles so generally and decidedly nseful, that we have been in the 
past, and shall be in the future, compelled to make them prominent 
items in our supply table. 

From the statements I have made, it will be seen that we have 
now relieved ourselves from the most fruitful cause of anxiety and 
reproach in the administration of our Supply Department; and 
any one who will examine the invoices of our shijoments to the 
army will soon discover that canned fruits, wines and other 
domestic delicacies, in regard to the use of which our contributors 
have had so much concern, form a very insignificant part of them; 
and we may hereafter effectually silence the criticisms of those w^ho 
question the purity of our work in this Department, by the asser- 
tion that scarcely one per cent, of our stores are such as are suscep- 
tible of misappropriation or unworthy use. 

In the transportation of supplies, we have had no other diffi- 
culties than such as w^ere incident to the interruption of communi- 
cation with the front, and the crowded state of the road when 
open. We have enjoyed every facility which we could ask at all 
points, and from the officers in every branch of the service. The 
recent break in the road has occasioned the accumulation of 
twelve car-loads of onions at Chattanooga, and six at IS'ashville, 
all of which were intended for Atlanta. But since there is now a 
large force on this side of Tunnel Hill, where the break begins, 
there is ample demand for all w^e have to issue. 

On the Mississippi the interruption of trade has so far dimin- 
ished the opportunities for shipment that it has been necessary, as 
I have before stated, to charter a steamer for the supply of our 
stations in that district. As soon as adequate transportation can 
be otherwise procured, this source of expenditure will, of course, b.- 
removed. 

In our constituency of the home field a cordial and harmoniOL 
spirit of co-operation prevails. Where large funds have been col- 
lected by Sanitary Fairs, a disposition has been manifested to rest 
upon the unusual exertion made in connection with them ; there 
has been a relaxation in the eflPorts to collect supplies, and, as a 
consequence, a diminution in the quantity received. In every 



160 SANITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

field, however, the produce has been precisely proportionate to the 
thoroughness of the tillage, and there is scarcely a portion of the 
country from which we derive stores that could not be made 
doubly productive by a more vigorous and systematic canvass. 

INSPECTORIAL DEPARTMENT. 

As the work of Sanitary inspection is in charge of another 
officer, he alone is capable of reporting fully upon it. I may say, 
however, in passing, that in this Department the work has been 
entirely suspended, and the surgeons who were engaged in it have 
been withdrawn from the field, or have gone into the service of the 
Government. 

Of the Chief Inspectors of Departments, Avhose duties are 
administrative and general, but two are now^ in the field — Dr. A. N. 
Read, some time absent on sick leave, has just returned to the 
supervision of our work with the army of Greneral Sherman, and 
Dr. Benjamin Woodward, who has lately been appointed to the 
superinteudency of the Mississippi District, an office formerly filled 
with so much credit to himself and the Commission by Dr. H. A. 
Warriner. Dr. M. M. Seymour, Chief Inspector of the Department 
of the Ohio, has been compelled, by the demands of his private 
affairs, to withdraw from the service of the Commission, and the 
position which he held is now vacant. Yet, as its importance has 
been greatly diminished by the changes in the location of General 
Schofield's command, it will not be necessary for the present that 
it should be filled. 

DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL RELIEF. 

Our work in this Department has so far increased as to be inferior 
to no otlier in magnitude and importance, and there scarcely seems 
to be a limit to the work of mercy which may be done by the differ- 
ent offices and institutions which it includes. The number of 
Soldiers' Homes under the superintendence of the Sanitary Com- 
mission in tliis Department was, at the date of my last report, 
eleven, namely, those at Nashville, Louisville, Camp Nelson, Mem- 
phis, Cairo, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, and 
New All)any. To tliese I have recently added one at Paducah, and 
another at Jefferson ville, Indiana. An enumeration of the lodgings 
and mealn furnished to tlie inmates of these Homes, during the past 



SPECIAL RELIEF WORK. 161 

quarter, shows an aggregate of ninety- three thousand five hundred 
and fifty-five lodgings, and three hundred twenty-one thousand and 
seyenty-six meals. While these large numbers will impress any one 
with the magnitude of the work accomplished by the Homes, they 
form but an imperfect exponent of the many and varied good offices 
which they perform to the objects of their charities. Only the 
detailed reports of their superintendents can give anything like a 
fair presentation of a subject to which space will not now permit 
me to do justice. 

HOSPITAL TRAILS. 

The transportation of sick and wounded, at one time a conspicu- 
ous portion of our work and expenditure, has now become so far 
self-sustaining as to require little intervention on our part. The 
hospital trains organized by the Sanitary Commission, and for 
eighteen months manned and sustained by it, were turned over to 
the medical authorities as soon as they were willing to accept the 
responsibility; and the major part of the expense attending the 
fitting up of the numerous and complete hospital cars on the road 
has been borne by the Grovernment, although the contributions 
made by the Sanitary Commission have, in the aggregate, amounted 
to some thousands of dollars. 

In the transfer of the sick in transit to the care of the Govern- 
ment, Dr. Barnum, who was in our service, was employed by the 
Medical Department, and he has since been given the supervision 
of tlie whole matter of the transportation of the sick and wounded 
to the rear, and the superintendence of all the trains upon the road. 
By his wisdom and energy, the work has been so far systematized 
as to form one of the best ordered branches of the medical service 
in this Department. 

To enable Dr. Barnum to accomplish his purposes fully, he has 
been authorized to draw freely upon the resources of the Commis- 
sion, and a small number of his assistants are still to be paid from 
its funds. 

HOSPITAL VISITORS. 

The duty performed by the Hospital Visitors continues to hold 

the high place in my respect which I have heretofore given it. My 

only regret, in this connection, is that the number of devoted and 

faithful men engaged in it cannot be largely increased. The 

11 



16'2 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

Commission has sustained a serious loss in the resignation of Eev. 
J. P. T. Ingraham., for the year past our Hospital Visitor at Xash- 
ville. Greatly to the regret of all ^nth Trhom he has been asso- 
ciated, he has felt compelled to return to his pastoral duties. 

In this connection I ought to refer to two sources of expendi- 
ture which properly belong to the Department of Special Eelief ; of 
these, the first to which I refer is the pre-payment of postage on 
soldiers' letters, retained in the offices of Chattanooga, ISTashyille 
and Louisville. The number of letters, mostly kind words from 
home, thus made to reach their destination, is something like 
sixteen thousand per month, forwarded at a cost of about eight 
hundred dollars. I cannot but think that the present arrangement, 
useful as it is, should be but temporary, and that if this great and 
richly deserved blessing cannot be secured to the soldier through 
the Post Office Department, the subject should receive the attention 
of Congress at the commencement of the next session. 

In accordance with permission from the Standing Committee, I 
have expended two thousand five hundred dollars in the construc- 
tion of a commodious chapel in the JefFersonville Hospital. The 
cost of erecting this building will considerably exceed the sum 
specified, and the balance will be paid by the Christian Commission. 
Yours respectfully, 

J. S. Xewberry, 

Secretari/ U. S. Sanifnry Commission. Western Beparimeni. 

EAST TENXESSEE. 

After the retreat of Longstreet and the associated events 
repoi-ted in my notes on the fall campaign ot 1868 had taken 
place, active military operations for a time ceased in the 
vicinity of Knoxville, though a large force, constituting the 
army of the Ohio, under General Schoiicdd, garrisoned this 
district for some months, and constant thougli unimportant 
skirmishing along the frontier kept the military authorities 
on the qui rirr. The resources of this country had, now 
become uttcily exhausted, and r(\aHy nothing could be 
dei'iv(xl from it for tlie supi)ort of the ai-niy. As a conse- 
quence, the task of furnishing the necessary subsistence 



EAST TENNESSEE. 163 

and hospital stores to tliat far-off region became a matter of 
no ordinarr diffictilty. As soon as practicable after the 
battle of Chattanooga, the raih'oad was re-opened to Knox- 
ville, and snpplies for the army were transported from 
J^ashville and Louisville by that rotite ; yet snch was its 
length — nearly five hnndred mih^s from Lotiisville — the 
dilapidated condition of the railroad, and the pressing wants 
of the greater army south of Chattanooga, that what was 
derived from this source was necessarily inadequate. The 
causes which limited the transportation of stores to Knox- 
viUo also restricted the contributions made for the supply 
of tlie hospitals at that point, by the Sanitary Commission ; 
yet, previous to this time, the main dependence of the gar- 
rison at Knoxville had been upon stores transported by the 
route from Central Kentucky over the Ctimberland moun- 
tains ; a rough road at best, and in T\dnter. and when cut up 
by army wagons, almost impassable. Such as it was. how- 
ever, we were compelled to use this route in the transporta- 
tion of the first Sanitary stores sent to Knoxville, and after 
the opening of the railroad we felt that the facilities for 
doing our work at this point were greatly increased. At 
this time the Agency at Knoxville was fully organized : Dr. 
M. M. Seymour, Chief Inspector of the Army of the Ohio, 
in charge. A hospital garden was established here as at 
Chattanooga, and all departments of our work were repre- 
sented. 

FALL CA31PAIGX OF 1864. 

The operations of the Sanitary Commission at the West 
during the autumn of 1864, were briefly as follows : In West 
Aarginia no active military movements were carried on. luit 
the camps and hospitals required a certain amount of effort 
on our part which necessitated the continuance of our 
Agency at AVheeling for the distribution of stores, and the 



164 SA^^ITARY COMMISSIOJy^ — WESTERI^ DEPARTMEis"T. 

employnieiit of one Inspector, wlio made rounds of visits 
to all tlie troops stationed in that Department. Xearlj^ the 
same may be said of Kansas, where a large aggregate of work 
was done, and 3^et no great event disturbed the even tenor 
of the way of our excellent agent, Mr. Brown, or his 
associates. In Arkansas active military operations were 
continued, and much was done in the way of supplementary 
aid to the army, both by the agents of the Western Sani- 
tary Commission and our own. The wish was frequently 
expressed by the officers of the St. Louis Commission that 
this field should be left entirely in their hands, but, with an 
earnest desire on my part to accede to the wishes of those 
Avho were working so earnestl}^ and efficiently in the same 
cause with ourselves, the arrangement was found to be 
impracticable. .Vll the IS^orthern States contributing to our 
fund of supplies had representatives in the army stationed 
in Arkansas ; and while ui'gent appeals for help were com- 
ing to us from these troops, we could not, in justice to them 
or their friends at home, delegate theii" relief to any other 
body, and thus shirk all the responsibility of their care. 

As a consequence, we were compelled to keep one or 
more agents constantl}^ in Arkansas, and our shipments to 
Duvairs Bluff, Grand Ecore, Little Rock and Fort Smith, 
during 1864, were in the aggregate very large. We have 
aniph' proof in the acknowledgments of surgeons and com- 
manding officers, that these efforts and supplies were of 
great value to the sick and wounded. 

On the Mississippi, our Agencies at \'icksburg, Memphis 
and Cairo continued in full activity. Such was the demand 
for stores — especially vegetabk^s — at tliese points' and at 
N(nv Oilrans, that the supply steamer was constantly 
<'mi)loyed in tlieii' transpoi'tation to these places and to the 
Mississippi fieet. A lai-ge army was still quartered in Ten- 
iicssrc, Noitli (Tcoiuia and Ahibama, which, in its different 



THE MARCH TO THE SEA. 165 

camps and hospitals, was receiving tlie ministrations of 
nearly one hundred of our agents. Louisville, IS'ashville, 
Chattanooga, Knoxville and Huntsville, therefore, continued 
to be all important and busy centers of Sanitary work. 

Sherman began his great march to the sea under such 
cu'cumstances as to forbid an attempt to follow him with 
supplies, but as far as it was possible to do so, the army was 
prepared by the Sanitary Commission for its arduous march. 
Extraordinary efforts had been made to furnish every regi- 
ment with a liberal supply of vegetable food for some time 
previous, and when the march began, an outfit was furnished 
to the surgeons as generous as was consistent with the limited 
transportation at their command. Two of our agents accom- 
panied the expedition — Rev. Mr. Hoblit and ^Ir. Johnson — 
and, aside from such other services as they rendered, they 
performed an important work in gathering full statistics of 
the casualties occurring on the march, noting all deaths and 
places of burial. In this way manj^ valuable records came 
into our possession which would have had no existence 
except through the efforts of these agents. 

The following letter from Mr. Hoblit will illustrate the 
character of the duty which he performed : 

Savaxxah, Ga., December 22, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Dewberry : 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — On learning that General Sherman was abont to 
make a bold move through the State of Georgia to some point on 
the sea-coast, it was deemed important that some one of the Com- 
mission's agents should accompany the expedition. That duty fell 
to my lot, and I now have the honor to report to you the work and 
observations of my mission. 

Early in the month of November there was great activity 
at Atlanta, sending stores and non-combatants to the rear, and 
preparing the troops with clothing and rations for the pro- 
spective campaign. By the middle of the month this work was 



166 SANITARY C0M3IISSI0N — AVESTERi^^ DEPARTMEi^T. 

accomplislied, and on the loth day of November, 1864, the Army of 
Georgia broke up camp, and commenced its long and unparalleled 
march toward the land of the palmetto. Officers and men were in 
excellent spirits, and eyen jubilant, over the prospective movement. 
Each division had its hospital department well organized before 
starting, and had, besides the hospital wagons, a corps of about 
forty ambulances. All the sick and wounded were to report, or to 
be reported, to the chief surgeon in charge of the hospital, for trans- 
portation and treatment. The surgeons of regiments were furnished 
with cards, admitting the bearer to a place in an ambulance. These 
cards were given out at the surgeon's call in the morning, to such 
as could not march. The bearer, perhaps, would start on with the 
troops, and, wiien his strength failed, rested by the wayside until the 
ambulances came up. For the first few days many could not walk, 
on account of foot-soreness ; but they soon got well, and even cases 
of fever and men with wounds recovered in these traveling hospi- 
tals. The plan worked well. Everything was systematized. 

When the column halted for the night, the hospital tents were 
speedily put up by a party detailed for that purpose, while others 
prepared supper. The sick and wounded were taken from the 
ambulances and made comfortable in the tents. Soon a hot, savory 
supper was ready and served to them, and then they were made 
comfortable for the night. Each hospital had its organized 
foraging party, whose business it was, during the day's march, to 
gather supplies for the hospital from the abundance in the country; 
and they seldom failed to bring in at night plenty of sweet pota- 
toes, cnickens, fresh pork and mutton, of which there seemed to be 
no end; also corn meal, and sometimes flour. Much of the time 
honey was to be found on the diet list. Milk was to be had in 
abundance. Scores of cows Avere driven along, for a supply of that 
very excellent article of diet in the treatment of the sick and 
wounded men. 

In the morning the surgeons examined all the patients, treating 
as each case required. Breakfast over, the ambulances were loaded 
again with their human freight, the tents struck, and the hospital 
was ready to move witli the column. Thus day after day did we 
proceed. 

It is remarkable, Ijut nevertheless true, that there Avere several 
divisions that did not lose a man bv sickness din-ini>- tlioir entire 



TO SAVANNAH WITH SHERMAN^. 167 

march of about three hundred and fifty miles. Those of other 
divisions who died were principally among the new recruits. The 
general health of the army was better when we halted before 
Savannah than when we left Atlanta. The generous and even 
luxurious living of the soldiers, upon sweet potatoes, turnips, fowls, 
various kinds of fresh meats, sorghum, molasses, honey, etc., had 
the good effect to eradicate Avhatever of. scorbutic taint previously 
existed. The march was of immense value to the army as a sani- 
tary measure. 

I have procured and forwarded to the Hospital Directory a 
correct and complete list of the casualties since leaving Atlanta; 
of the killed, the time and place; of the deaths in hospital, the 
date and where buried; of the wounded, the nature and locality 
of the wound in most cases; those seriously sick; and also the 
missing and captured. In all cases, when possible, I have given 
the place and the circumstances. We have spared no labor or 
pains to get a full report; and here I wish to make mention of the 
faithfulness of Mr. Johnston and Mr. Tope, my assistants; also, the 
uniform kindness and co-operation of the officers in the different 
departments and commands in perfecting this work. I am glad to 
be able to state that, with a very few exceptions, all the sick and 
wounded were brought through with the army. The surgeons in 
charge of the hospitals deserve much praise for their energetic 
efforts to bring all the patients through. 

I had designed to procure a list of Union prisoners buried from 
rebel prisons, but in this failed. Andersonville, Americus and 
Macon, where our men had been confined, were left to the right 
by our army, and of course these places I could not reach. Millen 
I visited, where so many of our brave soldiers were shamefully 
treated. About twelve acres of ground were enclosed by a stockade 
twenty feet high. This pen was in the midst of a dense forest of 
pines. A marshy stream ran through the center of it. ^o build- 
ings to cover the prisoners were permitted. All the shelter from 
rain and cold the men in that enclosure could obtain was huts 
made in the ground, and covered with mud bricks. The dampness 
must have been killing to the men, for in those swampy plains the 
water comes very near the surface of the ground. The list of 
mortality was terrible. The place was occupied twenty-two days 
by an ^.verage of ten or twelve thousand prisoners, and during 



168 SAlflTARY COMMISSIOK — WESTEEI^ DEPARTMENT. 

that time seven liundred and live were buried, and I found one 
unburied dead cavalryman in his mud hut. When I found the 
graves of those heroic dead, you may imagine my sore indigna- 
tion at discovering that not one name ivas on a single liead-hoard^ 
althougli each grave had its separate board. The hospital (I can't 
help but think by design) was placed on the bank of the pond 
below the prison yard, and all the washings and filth of the camp 
of twelve thousand men were emptied by the stream into this 
pond, from which the water used at the hospital must have been 
taken. 

There is no reason why even an enemy should be used in this 
manner. It is criminally shameful. Is there no way for our Gov- 
ernment to secure to her noble soldiers held by the rebels a more 
humane treatment ? 

After making a most rapid and successful march through 
Georgia, we invested Savannah on the 10th day of December, and 
on the 16th stormed and captured Fort McAllister, on the Ogee- 
chee Eiver. This gave us communication with the fleet. On the 
night of the 20th the enemy evacuated the city, and early the next 
morning our forces occupied the place. I have procured excellent 
rooms and quarters. 

I have sent a copy of this letter to Dr. Jenkins, General Secre- 
tary, asking that stores be sent immediately. 

Yours respectfully, 

J. C. HOBLIT. 

BATTLES OF FEANKLIX AND KASHYILLE. 

After the evacuation of Atlanta bj General Slierman, 
Hood first destroyed the railroad connection between 
Atlanta and Cliattanooga, then moved his army around 
the mountains of Northern Alabama, crossed the Cumber- 
land, and pushed northward, in the expectation that Nash- 
ville would fall an easy prey — garrisoned, as it must be, by 
only a fraction of th<^ force which had confronted him at 
Atlauta, the remnants left by Sherman when he made the 
S('l<'cti()ns that formed the splendid army which he led. 
The posts ()ccuj)ied by our ganisons, Iluntsville, Pulaski, 



BATTLES OF FKAXKLIX AXD XASHTILLE. 169 

etc., were necessarily evacuated on tlie approach of Hood's 
arm}'. From all these, except Franklin, our troops were 
withdrawn without a battle ; but at this point, before all 
our forces could retreat across the river, they were attacked 
with great fury by Hood, and compelled to make a stand 
and defend themselves. This was done with such effect 
that the enemy, though attacking, in overwhelming num- 
bers and with desperate courage, that portion of our force 
which had not been able to make good its retreat, was 
repulsed with terrible slaughter. 

After the battle of Franklin, the army of General 
Thomas was concentrated at ]S"asliville, where it was liter- 
ally besieged by Hood. Much surprise and impatience 
were expressed by our people at the hesitation of General 
Thomas in giving battle to the besieging army. The 
dissatisfaction of the Government at Washington with 
this delay was such that orders were issued relieving 
this gallant and veteran officer fi-om his command, and 
assigning another to his position. Those who best knew 
General Thomas, and the circumstances in which he was 
placed, had no fear but that the "Old Lion" of the Army 
of the Cumberland would show his teeth and claws when 
the proper moment arrived. The cause of the delay was 
simply this : 

Sherman had taken all the effective cavalry under his 
command, and though nominally a large cavalry force — 
Ewing's and Long's Divisions — was left to General Thomas, 
the men were mostly dismounted ; and, until horses could 
be procured, this arm of the service, so necessary for 
pursuit ill case of a victory, was completely disabled. 

Horses were soon procured by impressment, in Tennes- 
see and Kentucky, and on the loth of December General 
Thomas made the attack so long waited for. As is well 
known. Hood's army was routed at ever^^ point, and 



170 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

notliing but incessant rain, prodncing Hoods in the rivers 
and impassable roads, saved it from entire annihilation . 

Much of the battle of Nashville conld be overlooked 
fi'om tlie Capitol Hill ; the wounded were, therefore, within 
easy reach, and were promptly cared foi'. To this care our 
agents at Nashville contributed their own earnest efforts 
and a large amount of supplies. 

Some illustration of the work of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, in connection with the battles of Franklin and Nash - 
ville, is given in the following extracts from the reports 
of our agents. 

Tlie best work done for the army of General Thomas, in 
connection with the battle of Nashville, was the previous 
S3^steniatic distril^ution of an ti- scorbutics. During the iirst 
week in December, aside from other stores, we distributed, 
to sixty-three thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine men, 
two thousand and forty-hve bushels of potatoes, one thou- 
sand nine hundred and ninety-four bushels of onions, and 
seven thousand six hundred and sixty-three gallons of 
pickles and krout. 

REPORT OF DR. A. N. READ. 

Office U. S. SANrrARV Commission, 

N'ashville. Tenn., December 28, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. JNEWBERRY, 

Secretary Western Department IT. S. Saniiari/ Coiiinihssion : 

Dear Sir — As we see clouds move before the wind, meet, giitlier 
strength, and then by a more powerful current, roll back in the 
majesty of the storm — so did the forces of Major General Thomas 
meet before Nashville, and then scatter those of General Hood, like 
chaff before the whirlwind, on the loth and IGtli of December. 
Our troops were in good health and in excellent sjnrits. 

Since the battle, one thousand seven hundred and eleven 
wounded have been admitted to the hospitals of Nashville, besides 
the wounded of the colored troops. The number of the killed I 
cannot yet ascertain. The wounded were promptly brought from 
flic licld, tJH'ii- wounds ((uickly dressed in the division hospitals on 



THE WOUXDED AT FRAXKLIX. 171 

the Held, and within twenty-four hours most of them were sent to 
the permanent hospitals of the city. 

The wounded hare been better cared for. owing to the little dis- 
tance from the city, than in any previous battle in this department. 

Soon Franklin was in our possession, and on the 19 th I tele- 
graphed Surgeon Geo. E. Cooper, Medical Director, D. C. : 

If you wish, we ^dll send you seventy barrels of ale, sixty of soft 
crackers, one hundred and fifty boxes of best whisky, one hundred kegs of 
pickled cabbage, to be distributed iinder your directions, providing you give 

us transportation. Let me know your wishes. 

The same day I received the following answer : 

We have not transportation for the articles you offer. Send to Franklin 
six barrels of ale. fifteen barrels of soft crackers, twenty boxes of whisky, 
one hundred cans extract beef, two hundred cans of milk, ten kegs of cab- 
bage. Send them to Sui'geon Wood, in charge, and such other articles as 
you may see fit. There are nearly two thousand wounded there, and over 
one thousand five hundred rebels, who are in a lamentable condition. They 
are sinking from suppurating wounds in consequence of bad nourishment. 
I will teleo'raph to General Donaldson to place two box cars at your disposal 
to Franklin. 

I also received from Dr. Woods, the senior surgeon of the Post 
at Franklin, the following letter : 

Dr Read Fraxklix. December 20. 1S64. 

Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — There are in this place some eighteen hundred soldiers who 
were wounded in the battle of Franklin. There are no supplies, and our 
men have suffered terribly. Send clothing, noui'ishment. dressings and 
stimulants — almost any amount aviII be needed. Select such articles as 
destitute wounded men A\ill need. 

Most of the goods offered were furnished by the Western Com- 
mission. Previous to this, two wagon loads had been sent in charge 
of a competent agent. As General Thomas was not within reach, 
an order was given by Major General Sherman, through his Chief 
of Staff. General Webster. The goods dictated by Surgeon Cooper 
were promptly stnt. and in much larger quantities, many articles 
being added to the Hst. The sufferings of our wounded prisoners 
had been great-iy alleviated by the constant aid of some live Union 
families — Mrs. Eliza Jane Courtney, Miss Fauny Courtney, Master 
John Courtney (aged twelve years), Mrs. Hoffman, Mrs. Priest, Mrs. 
Dr. Cliff, and one or two others. These ladies need no commenda- 
tion from me. They are known to everv wounded Tnion man left 



172 SAIS^ITARY COMMISSIOISr — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

in Franklin, and enshrined in their hearts. The blessing of those 
ready to perish is theirs, and they all speak their gratitude and love. 

They gave liberally of their substance, preparing and carrying 
food day and night. Notwithstanding this aid, supplies were very 
much needed. As soon as our goods arrived milk and stimulants 
were freely given out, under the direction of Dr. Woods, the faithful 
surgeon in charge, to men who the surgeon said were fast sinking 
for want of proper food and stimulants. Clothing was algo needed, 
shirts, socks, and draw^ers, to clothe those who were naked, or to 
take the places of garments long worn, torn, bloody and saturated 
with discharges from their wounds. They were carefully and faith- 
fully distributed by our experienced agents — Mr. H. Tone and Mr. 
Buggies. 

At Murfreesboro there are over one thousand men in hospital, 
five hundred of them wounded. There have been urgent calls from 
the surgeons in charge for Sanitary stores. They have been cut off 
from their supplies ; and I am informed by Steward Emory, who 
brought an order for stores from one of the surgeons, and who 
referred us to this surgeon for particulars, that for several days our 
sick had nothing but what was made from corn meal for food, and 
not always enough of that. Three wagon loads were sent there, 
and Mr, Sutliffe has gone there to open a store-room as soon as the 
railroad is repaired. 

We have not been able to send stores below Franklin, although 
we hope to soon. They are wanted at Spring Hill, Columbia and 
Pulaski. The roads are so bad and transportation so limited that 
Dvs Cooper informed me they could not furnish transportation. 
They may not be much needed, as Dr. Coopei' is making every 
effort to hasten forward Government stores. 

There has been other suffering besides that of the wounded and 
sick. Men broken down by the two days' fighting of the loth and 
16th, w]k) could not march, were left in charge of the baggage of 
their respective regiments, and sent to barracks or camps of detach- 
ments. In the confusion of battle many of them had lost their 
clothing. Tlie weather became cold, the thermometer falling to 
near zero, and in such weather men were calling upon us for help, 
without shoes, without socks, pants, coats, blankets, or overcoats. 

On December 12th I telegraphed you as follows : 

Plense send us several thoiisaiul pairs of gloves and mittens. 



A TIMELY SUPPLY. 173 

On the 22 d I telegraphed Mr. Blatchford, of Chicago, Mr. Bur- 
net, of Cincinnati, and the Aid Society at Cleveland, Ohio, as 
follows : , 

The weather is ver}' cold ; many of your soldiers shouldering your guns 
for you are without gloves or mittens. Will you help them, and send at 
once by express ? 

On the 26th I received from Cleveland the following reply : 

Dr. a. :N'. Read : 

We sent you yesterday, by express, sixteen hundred and seventy pairs 
mittens. Soldiers' Aid Society. 

A very generous supply of gloves and mittens was also forwarded 
at once from Cincinnati. 

As mittens or gloves are not furnished by Government, and 
there are none in the market, the worth of them will be appreciated 
by the soldier, who must hold his gun however cold the weather, 
and who tries to protect his hand by the cape of his overcoat, or his 
sleeve. 

There are now in the hospitals of Xash^dlle seven thousand 
eight hundred and eighteen. Of these one hundred and eighty- 
eight are officers, and one thousand two hundred and ninety-six are 
Confederates. At Pulaski some three hundred of our wounded yet 
remain ; about one thousand five hundred in Murfreesboro, and 
there are also hospitals at Spring Hill, Columbia and Pulaski. 

We have issued nearly all our goods, but hope for more as soon 
as communication is fully re-established between this place and 
Louisville. I have no knowledge of the condition of the field in 
Chattanooga, but can learn soon. 

Yours, very truly, 

A. X. Read. 

REPORT OF AIR. C. B. RUGGLES. 

Db. J. S. Newberry, ^^ shyille, Tej^ n, January i, 1865. 

Secretary TJ. S. Sanitary Connnission, Western Department : 
Dear Sir — On the arrival of our forces at Franklin, I was sent to 
that post with stores for our wounded, who had been in the hands 
of the enemy, and others who might be left there. I succeeded, 
after three days' efforts, in getting through two teams loaded with 
Sanitaries, December 20th, and remained at that post till January 
2d; therefore my report will be confined to my experience there. 



174 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

I found the place full of wounded men — many of them suffering 
extremely, particularly our own men — and I at once commenced to 
issue goods for their relief. Of our own wounded, there were left 
in the hands of the Confederates after the battle of Franklin, two 
hundred and tAventy-three men, according to their account, with J. 
Islerton, Assistant Surgeon 129th Indiana, in charge. One hundred 
and twenty-one of these were placed in the Presbyterian church, 
seventy were at the Commins House, thirty-two were at a small 
house with two rooms called Parks' Hospital, from a citizen surgeon, 
who took charge of them. 

Besides those enumerated above, there were quite a number in 
private houses whom the Confederates, in their haste, wei'e com- 
pelled to overlook. Many died while they were prisoners, reducing 
the number when I arrived to less than one hundred and eighty-five 
men. Among the deaths were twenty-three whose names or regi- 
ments could not be ascertained. The lists of both living and dead, 
so far as it was possible to get them, were copied and forwarded to 
Nashville by Mr. Tone, the day previous to my arrival. The hos- 
pitals were in a deplorable condition even after our men had held 
possession two days. The wounded were mostly lying on the floor 
with a little straw beneath them, and such things as they could get 
for covering — most of them with the same clothes on that they wore 
the day of the battle, November 30th. The Confederates had taken 
from them many blankets, boots and shoes, and in some cases their 
money. The Confederates surely were in need of such things, for 
they robbed the dead of all clothes not spoiled by wounds: and I 
am told by many witnesses that they stripped the bodies of their 
own generals, six of whom lay dead on the battle field the day after 
the fight. 

When I first looked into the church where most of our wounded 
were, I found Mrs. Courtney and her daughter, Miss Fannie, endeav- 
oring to give the men breakfast with what coffee, biscuit and boiled 
beef they were able to get. Two barrels of our butter crackers 
added greatly to their repast, and I am sure the pleasantest work. I 
ever performed was to give every man crackers till he said " enough." 
Every Federal hospital was supplied as fully. And then came the 
clothing, shirts, drawers and socks. How many blessings were pro- 
nounced on our dear mothers, wives and sisters uj) in "(Jod's coun- 
try." Every man got a change, who needed it, so far as the cases 



LOYAL WOMEX OF FRAXKLIN. 1?5 

could be learned. The box of quilts, too, (twentv-seven in number) 
was soon distributed to the most suffering, and I heartily wish Miss 
Lizzy Woodhum, Secretary Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society, whose 
name was in the box, could convey to the donors half the thanks 
our wounded boys expressed. 

The Christian Commission was in the field with several noble 
working men. I offered them the free use of any stores of which 
they might find men in need, and they cordially accepted the offer, 
and rendered great assistance in seeing that our stores were faith- 
fully distributed. A large addition of Sanitary goods came Decem- 
ber 21st, among which were ten barrels of ale, and several boxes of 
whisky. A good share of the ale was distributed by the Christian 
Commission, and also much of the whisky, which the ladies put in 
the foj-m of milk punch and egg-nog. 

The wants of our own men somewhat relieved, those of the 
Confederates were not forgotten. There were some fourteen hun- 
dred of them in this place, and in accordance with the wish of Dr. 
Hewitt, and advice of Dr. Woods, who had taken charge of all the 
wounded the day of my arrival, I issued to the Confederate surgeons 
as many goods as we could spare. They seemed most thankful for 
all goods given them, which, without a doubt, saved many lives, 
besides softening the bitter feelings which they had cherished in 
their hearts for years. 

The necessities of the case required the issues of stores to be 
very irregular. Ladies were cooking at their own houses for both 
Federals and Confederates, therefore. Sanitary goods were given 
them, as they reached the soldiers easier than by any other method. 

The day before Christmas the wounded began to be removed to 
Nashville, and from that time till I left, the labors and necessities 
grew gradually less, till there were only some two hundred Confede- 
rates and thirty of our wounded left. These were the worst cases, 
and many probably will not recover. 

Having issued all that was needed to supply present wants, I 
turned over the remaining Sanitaries to E. A. Keeper, Surgeon 75th 
Pennsylvania, who relieved Dr. Woods the 1st of January, and who 
will care for the wounded till they recover or are removed. 

I should mention here the uniform kindness of Dr. Woods, 99th 
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, who had charge of all the hospitals while 
I was at Franklin. On the arrival of Sanitary stores he provided a 



176 SAJiTITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN^ DEPARTMENT. 

store-room adjaceut to the church, and rendered every assistance in 
their distribution. He hibored, too, incessantly among the wounded, 
and one day, under his authority, changed the appearance of the 
liospitals wonderfully. He provided at once bunks filled with straw, 
and supplied blankets as soon as they could be procured from Nash- 
ville. The boys appreciated his kindness, and were sorry to have 
him leave them. Dr. W. F. King, 124th Indiana, and Dr. A. J. 
Mills, Assistant Surgeon 42d Illinois, deserve a great deal of credit. 
They were present with their wounded men nearly all the time, day 
and night, after they were assigned to duty, December 19th. More 
faithful surgeons could not be found. Several citizen surgeons, 
residents of that place, rendered valuable assistance, and foremost 
among them is Dr. Reny, who labored for our wounded both before 
and after the return of our forces. 

Too much cannot be said in regard to the untiring exertions of 
the ladies of Franklin — nearly every family have labored as their 
inclinations led them, either for Union men or Confederates. I 
wish to mention those whom I know to have done all in their power 
for our own men : Mrs. Hoffman (a widow lady with two or three 
children and dependent on her own exertions for support), and Mrs' 
Priest, aided by Mr. Eel beck, were the first to visit our wounded. 
They carried every day pails of soup and coftee, and also l)iscuit 
prepared by their own hands, to the battle field, and fed our boys 
till they were removed to hospitals, which was not accomplished for 
four days. 

Mrs. Ilottman took three Federals and one Confederate to her 
own liouse, placed them on separate beds, and nursed them herself 
througli the full month of December, still laboring at the hospitals 
all she was able to till our forces came back. Mrs. Priest cooked 
for fifty of our wounded all the while the Confederates held the 
place; never once giving a morsel to a Confederate soldier, although 
they came to her house repeatedly and attempted to force her to do 
so. Her reply was, " Go to your friends, there are plenty of them 
here who are able to feed you." The Confederates searched hei* 
house twice for stores, which they sup})osed some Federal (piarter- 
master had left in her possession. The colonel who came on this 
mission askc'd her if she was a Yankee woman; her reply was, ^' Yes 
sir, 1 am, and I am raising recruits for the Yankee army," pointing 
lo licr llircc ])()vs who chinii- to h(!i" divss. 



Ai^ IKCIDEKT. 177 

One incident in regard to Mrs. Hoffman will show her spirit : 
A year ago last June, Forrest dashed into Franklin and held the 
place for seyeral days. Mrs. Hoffman kept the stars and stripes flying 
from her window all the time. Forrest rode by her house soon 
after his entrance to the place, and seeing the flag, sent an aid to 
get it. Mrs. Hoffman stepped to the window and said she defended 
that flag, and he (Forrest) could not have it. Mrs. Hoffman warned 
him not to enter her yard, as she was armed and would defend the 
flag to the last ; and then she said she would tear the flag in shreds 
before he should haye it. Mrs. Hoffman had an old pistol, but no 
ammunition. She also had brickbats and clubs to defend herself 
the best she could. Finding her so determined, Forrest called his 
aid back, and remarking that Mrs. Hoffman was too fine a lady to 
defend such a flag, bid her good morning and rode away. 

The flag was sent to her by friends in Chicago, and she still 
preserves it with as strong a determination to defend it. 

Mrs. Eliza Courtney, a widow lady, and her fair daughter. Miss 
Fannie, have not done less than those mentioned above. They have 
stood fast by the " old flag " through evil report and good report, 
and when our boys were in want they were ready to sacrifice their 
all for their comfort. Aided by one or two servants, these two ladies 
cooked for and distributed food among near one hundred men for 
twenty days, much of the time furnishing provision from their own 
larder. At all hours of the day, till late in the evening, they were 
in the hospital, either distributing food or ministering to the wants 
of the men. Mrs, Courtney had her beds brought up to the church 
for some of the worst cases, and also furnished all the bedding she 
had not actually in use. Both these ladies used linen from their 
own wardrobes for rags and bandages. Miss Fannie, when the linen 
gave out, took her dresses. 

Nor did their efforts cease when our forces returned ; but during 
my stay they w^ere every day among the wounded. In fact, Mrs. 
Courtney's kitchen was used all the time for cooking the rations for 
all in the Presbyterian church. Many a man who recovers from his 
wounds at this place will owe his life to the exertions of this untir- 
ing Union family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Abner Moss, always known as an abolition family, 
did much for our wounded; also Mrs. Dr. Cliff, who is so well 
known that it is useless to mention her deeds. 

12 



178 SANITARY C0MMISSI02;r — WESTERN^ DEPARTMENT. 

There are also many who have labored hard for the Confederate 
wounded, using their bedding and provisions freely for their com- 
fort. The two armies, going through the place twice, have taken 
nearly all the provision, and unless aid and comfort come to these 
people from our overflowing Northern homes, much suffering must 
occur before harvest. Surely those ought to be supplied who have 
so heroically stood by our forces in captivity. 

The season of the year prevented my doing anything with the 
bodies of our boys buried by the Confederates. I trust at some future 
day they may be disinterred and decently buried, when, without a 
doubt, many may be recognized and their bodies forwarded to such 
as may desire it. 

The need for an agent at Franklin having ceased Avith the 
removal of so many of the wounded, I return to this place to await 
further orders. 

Yours respectfully, 

C. B. EUGGLES, 

Belief Agent U. S. Sanitary Commissiov. 



CHAPTEK Y. 



E^VIBIiTTS OIF ISeS. 



LAST DAYS OF THE WAE. 

The battle of Nashville was the last important engage- 
ment of the war at the West. The attack of General Thomas 
upon Hood was so resistless that his army, broken and 
shattered, was driven beyond the Tennessee, without an 
effort or thought of making another stand. The next step 
in the plans of the military authorities was to follow up the 
advantages thus gained, by an expedition which should 
penetrate the country south of the Tennessee river, having 
Mobile for its objective point. For this purpose a large 
cavalry force was gathered at Eastport, Mississippi, and 
while remaining there, as it did for several weeks, there was 
great suffering among the men, both from the uncomforta- 
ble nature of their surroundings, and the want of adequate 
supplies. Recei^i^ng information of their wants, stores were 
at once shipped to them and agents were sent who distri- 
buted such things as were requii'ed, until the command was 
divided, part returning down the Tennessee and going to 
the Department of the Gulf, the other part striking across 
the country, as originally designed, and going beyond our 
reach. 

RELIEF OF UNION PEISONEES AT VTCKSBURG. 

Another important duty devolving upon us in the spring 
of 1865, was the relief of the wants of a large number of 
Union prisoners, paroled from the prisons at Andersonville 



180 sa:n^itary commission — westeen depaktment. 

and Salisbury, who came into onr hands at Vicksburg. 
Having received notice from the authorities that they were 
on their way, I commissioned Mr. Tone to carry supplies 
around to the point where they would enter our lines, and 
thus as soon as possible convey to them the comforts to 
which they had so long been strangers. He was provided 
with an abundant supply of stores of various kinds adapted 
to their wants, and, as usual, performed his work in a most 
satisfactory manner. His report of what was done on this 
occasion is so full and interesting that I venture to quote it 
nearly entire : 

OUR PRISOIS-ERS AT VICKSBURG — LETTERS OF 
MR. TONE. 

Dr. J. S. Newberry, Vicksbdeg, April 2, 1865. 

Secret av]! Western Department Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — I arrived here late last night, and find that our 
stores have not reached here any too soon. There are now in camp, 
four miles from here, about four thousand prisoners, and more are 
coming in every day. Those who came in first were from Cahawba, 
and were in much better condition than those now coming in, who 
are from Andersonville. The latter are in a very feeble and dis- 
tressing condition ; every train containing more or less who have 
died upon the road. Yesterday an ambulance came in which 
started from Jackson with four sick men, and when it arrived they 
were all dead. Large trains of ambulances are running between 
Black Kiver and Jackson, bringing those who are too feeble to 
walk. The city hospitals are being emptied to make room for them 
and everything is being done that can be done ; but still many will 
die, for the .succor lias come too late. 

It is expected that between ten and fifteen thousand men will 
be brought here, and they will be several weeks coming in. They 
are neither exchanged nor paroled, but are still under control of a 
rebel officer (Colonel Henderson, I believe), who is at the camp. 

I visited General Morgan L. Smith this morning, and he 
piomised me every facility and assistance, placing laborers, teams, 
and a guai'd at my disposal. The supplies which I have will last 



OUE PRISOKEKS AT YICKSBURG. 181 

for some days, but will need large additions, especially of krout and 
onions, if they can be procured. 

I would also urge that a large quantity of tobacco be sent, as it 
will be gratefully received. The men have not been and cannot 
be paid. They are greedy, ravenous for tobacco, and, famished as 
they are, are willing to trade a part of their rations for it. Several 
hundred pounds have already been donated by the citizens, but it 
hardly gave them a day's supply. I think no better expenditure 
could be made than to purchase three or four thousand pounds of 
tobacco, both chewing and smoking, and a few boxes of clay pipes. 
The camp is in the midst of a cane country where plenty of stems 
can be procured. 

Mr. Bro^TL tells me there is also a great call for suspenders. IS'one 
are furnished by G-overnment, and in their weak and emaciated 
condition the men cannot bear to have their pants buckled tightly 
about them. 

I learn also that there is great need of a Feeding Station at Black 
Eiver Crossing, and shall make an effort to start one there to- 
morrow, as we have all the necessary appliances. Mr. Johnston is 
an experienced hand at that business, and will be just the man to 
take charge of it. I do not think we shall need any more clothing, 
unless it be socks, of which we have very few. 

Colonel Xoble, of the 17th Connecticut, delivered a lecture here 
last evening, in which he stated that there is many a man on his 
way here who has not had a shirt on his back for more than twelve 
months, the only article of clothing being a piece of blanket tied 
about the loins; and their bodies are so dried and blackened by 
smoke that you cannot tell whether they were originally white or 
black. 

Hoping soon to hear from you by way of a supply of krout, 
onions, tobacco, etc., 

I remain, verv respectfully, „ ^ 

Dr. J. S. Newberry: Vicksburg, Miss., April 6, 1865. 

Dear Sir — I am happy to be able to report that we are making 
excellent progress in our work with the prisoners here. I am now 
issuing daily from forty to fifty barrels of potatoes to the men 
in camp, numbering about four thousand two hundred, with an 



182 SAXITART COMMISSIOX — WESTEEI*}" DEPARTMENT. 

occasional additional issue of krout. The men have all received new 
clothes, are drawing good rations, and if they could only hear from 
home and get plenty of tobacco, they would be perfectly happy. 
They haye been furnished with considerable quantities of pens and 
paper both by private individuals and the various Commissions, but 
heretofore have had so little ink that much of the stationery could 
not be used. To-day I procured materials and manufactured about 
two gallons of ink, which I carried to camp in pint bottles and 
divided so as to make it go as far as possible. To-morrow I shall 
prepare more, and I hope hereafter no soldier will be prevented from 
writing home by want of ink. 

The citizens here have done nobly. vSeveral of them, foremost 
among whom were Captain Greely and Mr. Foster, have devoted 
almost their entire time to the matter, collecting funds, purchasing 
and distributing goods. They expended several thousand dollars 
for tobacco, towels, combs, shears, razors, paper and envelopes. 

Here let me urge again the necessity of sending large quantities 
of tobacco. It is astonishing, the number of people who use the 
weed, and the almost uncontrollable appetite they acquire for it. 
Men may be filthy, ragged, buttonless, and in a very miserable 
condition every way, and yet a ''comfort bag," containing towel, 
soap, comb, buttons, needle and thread, will not be half as warmly 
welcomed as a piece of tobacco. The few pounds that I have, 
although cut into very small pieces, and made to go as far as possi- 
ble, have brought more thanks and created a greater sensation than 
all the potatoes I have issued. 

I have made arrangements to procure a list of all the men now 
here, and also, as far as possible, the names of those who died at 
Andersonville and Cahawba. 

Enclosed please find a copy of a communication which I 
addressed to General Morgan L. Smith, with reference to estab- 
lishing a Feeding Station at Black River, with the endorsement 
thereon by Captain Fisk, Assistant Adjutant General. He also 
gave me a note to Major Miller, commanding the camp, requesting 
him to do all in his power to assist me in carrying out the object 
of my mission. 

The articles desired have been procured, and Mr. Johnston will 
be on the ground, ready to work, to-morrow. 



FEEDING STATION FOR PEISONERS. 183 

The remainder of the prisoners, being nearly all men who Avere 
unable to walk, will be greatly benefited by such a station. 

Two days ago the train took out a large load of rebel prisoners, 
and brought back a load of our own. The contrast in the physical 
condition of the two squads of men was very striking. The rebels 
were fat and hearty, well clothed, carrying large rolls of blankets, 
and loaded down with bread and meat. Our own men were so 
feeble that they had to be taken from the cars to the hospital in 
ambulances, were ragged beyond decency, had not a blanket or a 
crumb of food in the squad, and some were almost in a dying 
condition. 

To-day one hundred and ninety men arriyed, and these were 
in even a worse condition. While they were at the depot we 
gave them milk punch, crackers and wine, and it was enough to 
make one weep to hear the fervent, but feeble expressions of 
"thanks, thanks," coming up from throats too weak to utter more. 
One died while we were feeding him. Poor fellow! he had lived 
to endure all the sufferings the rebels could impose upon him, only 
to die at the threshold of his fi'iends at last. 

Very respectfully, 

H. Tone. 

The following is the communication to General Smith, 
referred to in Mr. Tone' s letter : 

ViCKSBURG, April 3, 1865. 
General M. L. Smith, Commanding : 

The Sanitary Commission propose, with your consent and assist- 
ance, to establish a Feeding Station at Black Eiyer Bridge, for the 
benefit of prisoners in transit. We have, among our stores, extract 
of beef for making soup, milk, cups, dippers, etc., and we have a 
man who has had two months' experience in feeding wounded men 
at Eesaca, Ga. We have also ale, spirits, tea and soft crackers for 
the sick. 

If this proposal meets with your approval, we would respectfully 
ask for the following articles, to be returned when no longer needed 
for this purpose, or paid for by the Sanitary Commission : 

Two tents, and one fly or tarpaulin; twelve large camp kettles; 
six wooden buckets; two axes; also, an order for procuring from 



184 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

the Commissary the necessary hard bread, coffee and sugar, and 

four detailed men. ^^ ^ ^^ 

Very respectfully, ^ ^^^^ 

This was endorsed: "This arrangement is most heartily 
approved." By command of Brigadier General Smith. 

UNION PRISONERS AT CAHAWBA, ALABAMA. 

Another appeal was made to our sympathies from the 
Union prisoners at Cahawba, Ala., who, though still held 
in confinement, were, as we were assured by the rebel 
authorities, accessible to any effort we might make for their 
relief. The resources of the Confederacy being so nearly 
exhausted, they professed to be ready to welcome any effort 
that would in any degree relieve them from the care of those 
whose wants they found it so difficult to supply. Stores 
were therefore sent to New Orleans and Mobile, with what 
result will be seen by the following letters : 

New Orleans, January 10, 1865. 
Secretaky U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — Since my letter to you of the 28th ult., the Sanitary 
stores consigned to me for the henefit of Union prisoners at Cahawba 
haye all come to hand, excepting two boxes tea ; the same omission 
was noted on the invoice I received from Mr. Shipman at Cairo. 

I had opportunity, through the courtesy of Colonel Dwight, our 
agent of exchange, to accompany these stores to Mobile Bay, where 
I met Major Correll, referred to in the correspondence you forwarded 
to me. He was very gentlemanly, and was perfectly willing to 
receive the stores and to forward them to Cahawba. To receive the 
stores at that time was entirely impracticable — if our steamer would 
wait until the next day, he would come out and receive them. This 
was impossible, the steamer could not be delayed, and returned 
homeward. 

I intended to leave the stores at Fort Morgan in charge of Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Clarke, 6th Michigan Artillery, but the wind was 
blowing a gale, which prevented our landing at that point. The 
stores are now safely deposited in my store-room. Negotiations are 



UXIOX PEISONEES AT CAHAWBA. 185 

in progress whereby both parties, Union and rebel, may amply 
supply the wants of all prisoners. 

A few weeks since, one thousand two hundred suits of clothing 
were sent to Cahawba, through the arrangement negotiated by 
General Washburne and Captain Henderson, C. S. A., at Memphis, 
in ^N'ovember last. A portion of the contract made by these two 
parties was annulled by the officer in command at Mobile, and the 
Union officer who was appointed to go to Cahawba, by the terms of 
our contract with Captain Henderson, was stopped and not allowed 
to proceed beyond the obstructions in the bay. Our officers in the 
navy say that the boxes of clothing forwarded from this Department 
were allowed to remain on the wharf unguarded and unprotected 
from the rain for eight days, before they were sent forward to their 
destination. 

I regret exceedingly the failure of my attempt to forward stores 
consigned to me. I am assured, however, by Colonel Dwight, that 
every possible facility will be afforded to forward these stores here- 
after. And I shall avail myself of every opportunity to send to our 
men in captivity. 

May 11. 1865. 

I may as well render an account of myself in regard to the dis- 
position of the stores you forwarded to me, months ago, for the 
benefit of our prisoners then confined at Cahawba, Ala. I wrote 
you January 10th, explanatory of the failure that attended my 
attempts to forward them at that time. Since then, up to the time 
when our prisoners were removed from Cahawba, no opportunity 
was afforded for forwarding them. In the meantime, a demand was 
created for the stores among soldiers in active service and returned 
prisoners from Texas, and I appropriated them for special use in 
this Department, and have accounted for the same in my weekly 
report of receipts and issues, to the Central Office in Washington. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Geo. a. Blake, 

Agent Sanitary Commission. 
DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAXD IX 1S65. 

While the army of General Thomas remained unbroken 
in Tennessee, our agents in Xashville were kept fully 



186 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

occupied in the supply of its wants. Onr issues from the 
JSTaslLTille depot during January w^ere scarcely less than in 
the previous month. Early in 1865 this army was greatly 
reduced by the organization of a cavalry expedition under 
Greneral Wilson, to w^hich I have referred, and by detach- 
ments sent to New Orleans to reinforce the troops in the 
Department of the Gulf, in the campaign about to be inau- 
gurated against Kirby Smith, in Texas. So long as these 
troops, even thougli in transitu^ were within our reach, 
theu' wants continued to be supplied, and each transport, 
as it left, w^as, as far as possible, provided with such things 
as were necessary for the health and comfort of those on 
board. 

By this system of depletion, however, the Army of the 
Cumberland w^as soon reduced to comparative insignifi- 
cance ; wdiile it was necessary to continue our more impor- 
tant Agencies in the field until the middle of the year, their 
work w^as greatly diminished, and after July there was little 
more to be done, either in Chattanooga or Nashville, than to 
properly dispose of the stores and property on hand. 

THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE AT LOUISVILLE. 

In June, the army under General Logan, which accom- 
panied General Sherman on his march to Savannah, returned 
from the East and was quartered for a month or more at 
Louisville. This interval of rest, though so necessary^ for 
the war-w^orn veterans who had spent the preceding year in 
almost constant marching or fighting, was, however, endured 
rather than enjoyed by those wdio felt that their work was 
done, and who now desired nothing so much as to return to 
their homes. 

This opportunity w^as improved by the Sanitary Com- 
mission to compensate this army, as far as it was possi- 
ble, for the hardships and privations it had endured, by 



LETTER OF GENERAL MEIGS. 187 

giving the men a more varied diet than was furnished by 
the army ration, and through liberal issues of vegetables, 
pickles, etc., to eradicate scurvy, with which they were 
very generally tainted. In accomplishing this, fifty thou- 
sand dollars worth of anti- scorbutics were issued at Louis- 
ville during the month of June, with such marked effect 
upon the health, spirits and contentment of the troops, as 
to call out numerous acknowledgments and testimonials 
from the surgeons and officers. Of these a few of the 
briefest are given below : 

LETTER OF GENERAL MEIGS. 

QUARTERMA.STER GENERAL' S OFFICE, 

Washington, D. C, July 19, 1865. 
Jno. S. Blatchford, Esq., 

General Secretary JJ. S. Sanitary Commission^ Washington^ D. C: 
###****** **• 

The Sanitary Commission, organizing sympathy, has given unity and 
character to the friends and relatives of the soldier, on a gigantic scale, and 
borne an important part in the war. It has supplied, without the delays 
which are inseparable from a complete official pecuniary and personal 
accountability, much which the regular departments of supply could not 
so soon, or could not at all, distribute. 

Its agents have been everywhere, and have aided and assisted the 
ofl&cers, cheered many a weary and wounded man, and saved many a life. 

When the Secretary of the Commission first called upon me, at the 
outbreak of the war, I \\ ell remember the interview and the joyful expres- 
sion with which, after comparing our opinions and views as to the manner 
in which the Commission could best fulfill its objects of usefulness, he said 
that I had given him new Viope and confidence, and that he then, for the 
l;rst time, felt as though he had "touched bottom," and had found firm 
ground to stand upon. 

Since then I have seen the operations of the Commission, not only in 
this city and the extensive hospitals which surround it, but at the bases of 
supplies, the temporary depots through which the wounded were passing 
after great battles I have gratefully recognized the value of its labors to 
the soldier, to the officer, and to the cause ; and rejoiced that I was early 
brought into contact with it, and that I had been able to aid it by my own 
efforts and by those of officers under my direction. 

This country has many proud memories to mingle with the sadness of 
the late war, and among the proudest will be the magnificent voluntary 
sympathy and charitj^ to its representative soldiers, organized and con- 
ducted by. the Sanitary Commission. 



188 SAKITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Wishing the members and officers of the Commission health and happi- 
ness, and long life to enjoy the honor and regard with Avhich their names 
are crowned hy a free people, I have the honor to be. 

Ver}' respectfully, your obedient servant. 

M. C. Meigs, 
Quartermaster General, Brevet Major General. 

LETTER OF MAJOR GENERAL A. J. SMITH. 

Head-Quarters Sixteenth Army Corps, 
Department of the Giilf, 

Montgomery, At.a., June 17, 1865. 

D. B. Carpenter, 

Relief Agent U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — I have had the pleasure of observing the amount of mate- 
rial and much needed aid which has been extended to the troops of my 
command by means of your Agency, and I cannot permit you to go from 
among us without giving you a feeble expression of the deep feelings which 
we cherish toward the noble society which you have so faithfully repre- 
sented, and whose benevolent objects you have so ably carried out. 

The war is over, and thousands of patriot soldiers are returning to their 
homes, carrying with them reminiscences of the eventful scenes of the past, 
which, for long years to come, they will rehearse to their children and their 
children's children, and, among their reminiscences, many will tell how, 
when they were wounded, and faint and weary, "the agents of the blessed 
Sanitary Commission"' came and cared for them, "like ministering spirits," 
binding up their wounds and uttering words of comfort, and gave to them 
all the aid which man could render to his sutiering fellows. 

In behalf of the officers and men of this corps, I tender to jou. and the 
Sanitary Commission, our most heartfelt thanks for the many favors which 
we have received at your generous hands, and assure you that they will be 
gratefully remembered by us all. 

I am, yours truly, 

A. J. Smith, 
Major General. 

LETTER OF BREVET MAJOR GENERAL 
A. F. AVILLIAMS. 

Camp near Louisville, Ky., July 21, 1865. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission. 

Sir— I take pleasure in bearing testimony to the valuable services of 
the Sanitary Commission during the late war. 

In looking back over the four years of the memorable struggle, it is 
difficult to conceive how our armies could have done without your benefi- 
cent organization. Your agents, with necessary supplies, seemed always 
present where most needed, and always anticipating where the greatest 
demand was to be. 



ICKKOWLEDGMEI^TS. 189 

Government supplies, however abundantly provided, bound to the 
cautious movements of other army trains in the face of an enemy, and from 
various causes which need not be mentioned, were not always at hand, and 
often in but limited quantities, especially during and immediately after a 
battle. The indefatigable agents of the Sanitary Commission always kept 
pace with the moving columns, and unloaded their well-chosen supplies 
upon every battle field. 

This is, however, but a limited view of the broad operations of your 
organization, which seemed to cover every want of the soldier, in camp, in 
hospital, and on the battle field. Every report of your society will show 
how extensive, how systematic, and how judicious these operations have 
been. Thousands of sick and wounded soldiers, whose sufferings you have 
alleviated, and whose wounds often healed as much through your home 
sympathies and comforts as through professional skill, are scattered all over 
our country, living witnesses of your noble beneficence. 

There cannot be a fair-minded officer in the army, who has at all looked 
into the subject, who will not with grateful pleasure bear testimony to the 
quiet, efficient, faithful and impartial labors of your agents, and to the 
incalculable good that your association has done in the great conflict now 
happily ended. 

The world will regard your association in its aims, purposes and results, 
as the noblest benevolent institution that ever alleviated the sufferings and 
calamities of war. 

I have the honor to be. 

Very sincerely and truly, your obedient servant, 

A. F. Williams, 
Brevet Major General of Volunteers. 

LETTEE OF W. C. DAi^IELS. 

Head-Qttabtbrs Fotjrteenth ArjSit Corps, 

LouisYtLLE, Kt., July 18, 1865. 

Dk. J. S. New^berry, 

Secretary U. S, Sanitary Commission: 

Sir— Understanding that the Supply Department of the United States 
Sanitary Commission is about being closed at this point, and the kindly 
relationship, as co-workers, which has so long existed between the medical 
oflScers of this corps and the agents of your Commission, is now being 
rapidly dissolved by the muster-out of our troops and their return home, I 
take this opportunity of expressing to you, and to the officers and agents of 
your Commission, and, through you, to the generous friends at home, who 
have so liberally supported your noble undertaking, the heartfelt tbanks of 
the officers and soldiers of the Fourteenth Army Corps, for the substantial 
aid and comfort which they have so freq>;ently and gratefully received at 
your hands, in hospital and in field. 

From the outset of the Avar to the present time, on the battle field and 
in bivouac, from the Ohio river to Atlanta and the sea-coast, and thence to 
Goldsboro, Ealeigh, Washington, and back to our original standing-point, 



, 



190 SANITARY COMMISSION^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 



your Commission has kept step wiili the army, and has been constantly 
represented in the front by an able corps of gentlemanly and efficient 
workers, continually engaged in alleviating the snfierings of our soldieri 
and providing for the sick and wounded of our command. We cannot but 
feel that words are inadequate to express our indebtedness to you. But 
now that we are about to separate, your work being ended, "after four 
years of labor nobh' done,"' and you about to return to your homes and 
firesides, we beg to assure you that you carry with you the hearty thanks 
and the warmest feelings of gratitude of the officers and soldiers of the 
1-ith Army Corps. 

I am. verj' respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. C. Daniels. 
Surgeon U. S. V., Medical Director Fourteenih Army Corps. 

LETTER OF DR. GILL. 

Head-Quarters Temp. Division Fourteenth Army Corps, 
Office of Surgeon in Chief, 

Near Louisville, Kt., July 14, 1865. 

Dr. J. S. Xkwberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir— The time has arrived when the material for the history of 
the "AVar of the Eebellion '' must be collected, and all organizations, asso- 
ciations, or societies, whose object has been the support of the cause of 
freedom, union and humanity, and the suppression of slaveiy and secession, 
and the amelioration of sufiering, should receive their due meed of praise. 

The Sanitary Commission has borne a most conspicuous part in supply- 
ing the wants of the soldiers, whether at home or in the field, in health or 
in sickness. When the demands were greatest, its supplies were most 
abundant, and furnished at times when it was almost, if not quite, impos- 
sible to procure them from any other source. 

1 have seen the time when nearly every patient in a division hospital, 
after a battle, was clothed with garments prepared by a single Aid Society. 

The wants of the wounded have been anticipated in the preparing of 
clothing, as to kind, quality and quantity, and at times of battle or siege 
the efforts of the Commission have always been felt and appreciated by 
tliose who had the l)est opportunities of observing. The agents have been 
ever looking for the soldiers who might be in need of food or raiment. 

In the West, during the campaign and siege of Vicksburg, when trans- 
port ;it ion was by water, the supplies of fresh vegetables, ice, canned fruits, 
(iricfl fruits, jellies and clothing, were enormous in quantity, and, consider- 
ing I he fact that scarcely anything could be i)urchased with the hospital 
fund, they were of the greatest value. 

During the cainj)aign and siege of Atlanta the sujjplies were as large as 
the limited transportation allowed by railroad could carry. 

During the latter cami)aign their agents were stationed at the diflerent 
posUj on railroad or river, from the battle fields to the extreme Northern 
citicH, ready to assist the returning sick or wounded soldier with food, 



TESTIMOl^'IALS. 191 

clothing:, shelter, \M'itino- mnterhil, money, if need be, or information to 
help him on his way to hospital or his home. 

The Sanitary Commission has acted the part of a parent to many a poor, 
sick soldier, and, by means of the Register, has given information to quiet 
the anxiety of many an inquiring parent, family, or friend. 

The Claim Agency is a most commendable branch of its labors; collect- 
ing, as it does, without pay or emoluments, the back pay or bounty of the 
soldier, or in case of his death, for his family. 

Taking into consideration the fact that such an organization, as to 
extent, was a nOA-elty in war, the aggregate results atttained by the several 
Branches of the Commission have been beyond all expectation, and speak 
the highest praise of an enlightened and Christian people in a great struggle 
for freedom and national existence. 

One of the brightest pages in the histor}^ of the war will be that on 
which shall be written an account of the humane and Christian efforts of 
the North to relieve the sufferings of both friend and foe. 

I do not believe that two ])er cent, of the aggregate supplies have been 
divei'ted from their proper objects. 

The officers and soldiers of the Union armies will ever remember with 
satisfaction and gratitude the United States Sanitary Commission, to whom 
in many cases they owe, under God, their lives and present health. 

To its officers, agents and helpers is due the highest measure of praise 
from a grateful arm}'. 

I am, sir. with hisch esteem, 

H. Z. Gill. 
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, Surgeon U. S. V. 

LETTEK OF DR. WX. GRIN"STED. 

Head-Quartebs Third Division Twentieth Armt Corps, 

Fort Lincoln, near Washington, D. C, June 26. 1865. 

Dr. J. S. Xeavberry, 

Secretary U. S. Sanitary Commission: 

Dear Sir— On the dissolution of this corps, permit me, in the name of 
the soldiers of this division, to return to you, and the agents of the United 
States Sanitary Commission, heartfelt thanks for the energy and liberality 
displayed in attending to the wants, not only of this Division, but of the 
whole army. 

Impossible as it often was for the United States Government (liberal 
though it has been) to furnish all the sick and wounded required, the Sani- 
tary Commission, unlocked for, but most welcome, frequently bestowed 
many articles of nutriment and clothing, both to the sick and wounded in 
hospital and to the troops in the field, to the great comfort of the recipients. 

For nearly four years I have been intimately conversant with the work- 
ings of the Sanitary Commission, and have, with pleasure, witnessed the 
promptitude and tidelity with which articles have been distributed M'herever 
needed, from Fort Henry to Yicksburg, and during the Tennessee and 
Georgia campaigns, under Major General Sherman. 



192 SAIs^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTEEK DEPARTMENT. 

Allow me to tender j^oii and the Commission my own and the respects 
of my immediate medical staff; we lirmly belieying the Commission to be a 
g:rand and merciful institution, calculated to mitigate, in some degree, the 
horrors of war. 

Wishing all concerned in this noble enterprise "God speed," 
1 am, sir, your obliged and obedient servant, 

W3r. Grinsted, 
SiW'jeon U. S. V., Surgeon in Chief Third Division Twentieth Army Corps. 

LETTER OF GENERAL LOGAN. 

Head-Quarters Army of the Teistnessee, 

Louisville, Kt., July 13, 1865. 

Dr. J. S. Xewberry, 

Secretary Western Department IL S. Sanitary Commission: 

Dear Sir — Since my arrival here with the Army of the Tennessee, the 

articles issued to them by the United States Sanitary Commission have 

certainly had much to do with the health, comfort and content of the men, 

for which they feel grateful; and I, in theh- behalf, return you my sincere 

thanks. 

Very respectfully, 

John A. Logan, 

General. 



LETTERS OP SURGEONS J. B. POTTER AND 
J. R. NICHOLS. 

Head-Quarters Fifteenth Army Corps, 
Medical Director's Office, 

Louisville, Ky., July 17, 1865. 

Dr. J S. Newbeury, 

Secretary Western Department U, S. Sanitary Commission: 

Sir — Through you, permit me to tender to the Sanitary Commission 
my appreciation of its operations. During the winter and spring of 1S63, 
at Youngs' Point, La., and at the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., during the 
summer, our hospitals were well supplied from your stores, and manj-, very 
many valuable lives saved bv the bountiful supplies received from the Com- 
mission. The same was true at tlie battle of Mission Kidge, Tenn., in the 
auturin of the same year, and in the campaign against Atlanta, Ga., in 
1864, when our field hospitals were well supplied with all necessary articles. 
At Savannah and Fort McAllister, Ga., immediately after capture, your 
stores were at our command. The same was true at Goldsboro and Raleigh, 
N. C, Kichmond, Va., AVashington city. D. C, and Louisville, Ky., where 
not only issues were made to our sick, l)nt vegetables given twice per week 
to the entire command, (lotli Army i oips.) 

The Commission is without a parallel in the world's history; its officers 
a marvel of industry, peiseverance and intelligence in discharge of duty. 
Whenjvcr our ti-<»()|,s marched they followed, ever ready with sui)plies for 



MOKE testimo:n"y. 193 

sick and wounded. In fact, the troops looked for their advent with the 
same confidence as that of tlieir Commissary, and were never disapi^ointed. 
The Commission deserves, as it will ever receive, the thanks of the 
army: and when the great rebellion shall have passed into history, no 
adjunct to the Government, on battle field or in hospital, will receive, as 
none deserves, a brighter page on its record. 

Permit me to bear testimony, so far as my limited sphere has extended, 
to the fidelity mth which its agents have discharged their trust. And as 
they, with the army, are about to return to the body of the people, let me 
express the hope that their future may be as prosperous as their past has 
been benevolent. 

I have the honor to be. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. B. Potter, 
Surgeon Thirtieth 0. V. /., Surgeon in Chief Second Division Fifteenth Army Corps, 

Late Aciijig Medical Director Fifteenth Army Corps. 

1 gladly add my testimony to Dr. Potter's. 

E.. Nichols, 
Surgeon U. S. F., Medical Director Fifteenth Army Corps. 



LETTER OF G E J^ E R A L CHAS. C. WALCUTT. 

Head-Qxjaeters Fikst Division Fourteenth Aemt Corps, 

Near Louisvtlle, Kt., July 19, 1865. 

Dr. J. S. jS^ewberry, 

Secretary U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Sir — Before the army is disbanded, and while I am yet a member of it, 
I feel it mj duty to give, through you, my testimony to the great worth and 
service of the Sanitary Commission to the army during the late war. I am 
free to say that the lives of thousands of our brave men have been saved by 
the timely aid and comfort furnished by the Commission. 

Tour ofiicers and agents, in all cases coming under my personal obser- 
vation, have labored with the greatest zeal and energy in their good work, 
faithfully to those who sent them on their mission of kindness, and most 
nobly to the soldier they were intended to benefit. Wherever our army has 
been, your good oflQcers could be found. 

The ofiicers and managers of that noble organization, its agents, who 
have labored so hard and so cheerfully to alleviate the soldier's condition, 
and our kind friends at home, who have contributed so liberally to our 
good, will ever be held in profound and grateful remembrance by the 
officers and soldiers of our army. 

With congratulations for the proud history that you and your co- 
workers have made for yourselves during the terrible war just ended, 

I am, sir, yours very respectfully, 

Chas. C. Walcutt, 
Brevet Major General. 
13 



194 SAKITAEY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERN" DEPARTMEI^T. 

In tlie iiiontli of July tlie army of G-eneral Logan was 
practically disbanded ; a. portion being sent to Texas for 
further duty, tlie larger part mustered out of service and 
allowed to return to their homes. To those wlio went to 
the Department of the Gulf we were able to render further 
aid in furnishing a liberal outfit for their voyage. 

With this work the Sanitary Commission may be said to 
have closed its labors in the Supply Department of tlie 
West ; yet much of its Relief Work continued in activity 
for weeks and months afterward. With the disbanding of 
the army at various points, all avenues of transportation 
were croAvded, and as a consequence our Homes were 
thronged with those who were the proper objects of their 
charities. After the 1st of September, however, the work 
at all points rapidl}^ diminished, and early in October all 
our H"omes were closed, except those at Cleveland and 
Columbus, Ohio, which it seemed necessary to continue 
into the year 1866. 



PART II. 



THE SUPPLY DEPARTMENT. 



CHAPTER I. 



Il^^TI^■OIDTJOTIOIs^. 



ORGAXIZATIOX OF THE DEPARTMEI^T OF MATERIAL SUPPLIES. 

At tlie West, as at the East, tlie want of material sup- 
plies, in onr newly organized armies, was so universal and 
urgent as to determine tlie form in wliicli tlie patriotic and 
benevolent spirit that culminated in the Sanitary Commis- 
sion first manifested itself. Governmental machinery was 
yet altogether inadegnate to the demand upon it, and mili- 
tary stores, which, up to this time, constituted but an 
insignificant portion of the production of our country, had 
to be created, for, except in very limited quantity, they did 
not exist. The first want felt by troops, gathered suddenly 
from the shelter of their homes, and severed fi'oni theii" 
previous means of support, was plainly of food. This, in 
its elemental forms, the country fortunately j)Ossessed in 
abundance, and the Government had a credit which sufficed 
for its purchase. Of clothing and shelter, adapted to the 
wants of the soldier, the necessity was scarcely less press- 
ing, but the means for its supply were, for the most part, yet 
to be provided. Tents, blankets and uniform were therefore 
the great desiderata for all the regiments which earliest took 
the field. Tents were articles not used in civil life, and must 
be produced by the complex and necessarily slow process 
of manufacture. For months, therefore, our troo^^s were 
compelled to sleep upon the ground, with no other shelter 
than the concave of the sky, or such protection from the 
weather as they could extemporize. Fortunately the 



198 SAKITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

campaign began in summer, and tlie montlis wliicli elapsed 
before the storms of antumn ensued sufficed in part, tliougli 
only in part, to supply tliis indispensable element in all 
systematic military operations. Military clotliing liad also 
to be manufactured, and tlie recruits of tlie tirst levy, 
tliougli composed of tlie finest possible material, both as 
regards morale 2in.^pliyslciue^ clad partly in civilian's dress, 
partly in the varied and fantastic uniforms of independent 
companies, and partl}^ in the regulation uniforms taken 
from the slender stores of the Government at the outbreak 
of the rebellion, presented an appearance so motley and 
incongruous as not onlj^ to offend the eye, but to warp the 
judgment of all those who felt, as most military men do, 
that the appearance of the soldier is a reliable exponent of 
his efficiency. Under these circumstances the first appeal 
to the sympathies of our citizens was for blankets for the 
soldiers. For these necessary articles the want was felt 
from their first entry into tamp, and I very w^ell remember 
how, in the organization of the first regiment at Cleveland, 
Ohio, then my home, the earliest duty of the Soldiers' Aid 
Society was to gather blankets for the recruits. These were 
collected by going from house to house, and, at the end of a 
day's effort, seven hundred blankets, quilts and counter- 
panes Avere heaped in a corner of the armory in Lyman' s 
Block ; a gift which served to lessen, in a sensible degree, 
the shock experienced by our citizen soldiers in their change 
from civil to military life. In many instances these first 
donations to the cause destined to draw so largely on our 
resoui'ces and sympathies, were made with much self- 
sacrifice, and beds were often stripped of clothing necessary 
to th(^ comfoi't of tlu^ir occupants, to soften the lot of those 
who liad volunteered for our defense. So pressing was this 
want of bedding in our cain])s, tliat an appeal for its supply 
was mndc tliioiiuli Ww, ])iiblic prints l)y Quartermaster 



THE FIEST WANTS. 199 

General Meigs ; an apxaeal so promptly met by tlie contri- 
butions of the people, that this need of onr young army 
was for the time fully satisfied. 

At a subsequent period, when the Grovernment machinery 
for the production of military stores w^as fully organized, 
the w^ant of the articles I have mentioned was less pressing 
than at first, and yet the number of our troops was so 
rapidly increased that the resources of the Government 
were not only constantly emploj'ed, but I may say over- 
taxed, and at no time during the continuance of the w^ar did 
these wants cease to exist, so that to supply deficiencies felt 
by troops hurriedly recruited, or to compensate for loss in 
military operations, bedding and clothing, for either camp 
or hospital, continued to be furnished by the people to the 
very close of the war. 

Very soon, however, a new class of wants was developed 
in our army, one which touched more deeply the sympa- 
thies of our peox3le than that to which I have referred. The 
complete change of life involved in the transformation of 
citizens into soldiers ; the alteration of habits and diet, 
joined to the exposure, hardships and privations of camp 
life, told severely even on the most robust of the recruits. To 
those who took the field for the first time amid the rains of 
autumn or the snows of wilnter, this ordeal was particularly 
severe, and in many instances it happened that w^ith only a 
few weeks of camp service half an entire regiment would 
be on the sick list ; either in comfortless and ill appointed 
regimental hospitals or in the scarcely more commodious or 
better appointed churches, school-houses, warehouses, etc., 
which, for want of better, w^ere chosen as general hospitals. 

The condition and w^ants of the sick, often during the 
early part of the war in the highest degree distressing, were 
such as fully to justify the earnest and sometimes heart- 
rending appeals made for their relief. The corps of medical 



200 SAXITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

officers, on wliom tlie care of the sick devolved, was at first 
imperfectlj organized; was composed of lieterogeneous 
material ; and here, as in other branches of the service, great 
embarrassment was occasioned by the w^ant of a knowledge 
of their dnties on the part of those in responsible positions. 
To this was often added the lack of all suitable materials 
with which to operate. Hnndreds of hospitals owed their 
entire organization, eqnipment and supplies to the voluntary 
eff'orts and contributions of the citizens in the communities 
where they were located, and to the donations of societies 
called into existence all over the land by the magnitude 
and intensity of the ills suflfered by those who had the 
highest claim upon our sympathy and regard. 

At first there were many, and always some, especially 
among such as had been educated under the old army 
regime^ (where a handful of troops, in time of peace, was 
faiii}^ provided for by the machinery of the War Depart- 
ment, ) who denied the necessity for such spontaneous efforts 
on the part of the people, claiming that the War Depart- 
ment should be, if it were not, self-sustaining. Happily 
the number of such was small, and our true-hearted and 
clear-headed men and women so far realized the overwhelm- 
ing burden that was thrown upon our countiy as to be ready 
and eager to lend their strength to sustain it, without stop- 
ping to inquire wdiether the assistance they rendered was 
precisely jp?'o /orma or not. Thanks to the prevalence of 
this spirit, tlie ranks of our army w^ei'e constantly filled ; 
tlie V)iirdens of taxation cheerfully borne ; millioiis of dol- 
lars spontaneously contributed to tlie one great cause ; and 
as the result, the war was brought to a successful termina- 
tion, and our country saved. 

Pi'obably there are few wlio will iiow deny the reality, 
or clirMjxMi tlic value of th(^ services rendered to the army 
aii'l the comitiy l)y tlic S])oiitaii<'()US effoi'ts whicli it is my 



VALUE OF VOLUNTAEY CO-OPEEATIOI^. 201 

task to briefly describe in this report ; and tliongh there 
may be many who regard the circumstances of our country 
during our great civil war as altogether exceptional, and 
who adhere more or less firmly to the theory of a wholly 
self-sustaining military organization, there are doubtless far 
more who will assent to the assertion that one great lesson 
which the world will learn from our war is the value and 
even the necessity of the voluntary co-operation of the peo- 
ple ; and that no other war will be waged among civilized 
nations without a Sanitary Commission as an indispensable 
accompaniment. 

Our experience at every step has demonstrated the incal- 
culable utility of the eiforts of our people not onlj^ to the 
army but to themselves. The magnitude of the contribu- 
tions which they made to our common cause introduced a 
new era in benevolent efi'orts, and taught us, to an extent 
never before realized, the truth of the maxim, ''It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." It is not too much to say 
that every benevolent enterprise presented to our people 
will feel the benefit of the great opening of hearts and 
purses which accompanied and embellished our war ; giving 
to its cloud, in more senses than one, a silver lining. 

Military regulations, like civil laws,, are necessarily 
framed for masses and not for individuals, and since in civil 
life there is a necessity for the efforts of philanthropists in 
equalizing the bearing of justice upon individuals of different 
moral statures, in supplementing by the ministrations of 
mercy the severities of inflexible law, so in war, to a far 
greater degree, the elements of pity and benevolence are 
especially necessary if it is to receive the impress of our 
Christian civilization, and be redeemed from its barbaric 
and brutal character. In a practical point of view there is 
no one, at all familiar with the working of our machinery, 
but will feel convinced that great good follows the holdino; 



202 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTER!^ DEPARTMENT. 

of a special reserA^e of botli efforts and materials, such as 
may be drawn upon mtliout waiting for tlie sometimes slow 
working of a wholesome and necessaiy rontine. And while 
we know that moditications of the rigid method adopted in 
military life cannot be safely attempted, the people, who 
are the source of all power, may, as the event proved, not 
only safely, but wisely and efficiently hold in theii' hands a 
reserve to be applied instantly and informally in any emer- 
gency tliat ma}^ arise. 

In these remarks on the general bearing of the contribu- 
tions made to our armies through the Sanitary Commission, 
I ought not to forget one aspect of the subject which has 
been a source of constant pleasure in the w^ork of our peo- 
ple, both in the arni}^ and in the home field. One of the 
most palpable and delightful results which has followed 
the union of good and true men and women thro nghout our 
IN'orthern States in this great work for the army, has been 
the better knowledge of and greater sympathy with each 
other which the co-workers in this cause liave acquired. 
Members of different sects and circles have met for the first 
time on common ground, and have been drawn together by 
a sympathy so strong and pure that it has engendered a 
mutual respect, and in niau}^ cases, an affection that will 
forbid them to stand in the relation of antagonists or livals 
in all their future intercourse. 

This great work of supplementary aid, though ultimately 
assuming dimensions so gi'and and becoming so thoroughly 
systematized, l)egan s})ontane()usly and without concert at 
a thousand different points. From e\('iy town and hamlet 
there went as volunteers those who carried with them not 
only the affection of their relatives, but the sympathy 
and interest of all ])ati-iotic citizens. To their impeifect 
ecjiii])ni('iit <'()iitril)uti()i<s wci'e made of such things as the 
coiniiiuuitics they i'epreseut<Hl had to give, and such as an 



PROMPT ORGANIZATIOlNr. 203 

imperfect knowledge of army life led them to suppose 
would be required. 

In many places the value of organization was fully 
appreciated, and selections were promptly made of such 
leaders in the movement as were conspicuous for benevo- 
lence and administrative ability. In some localities this 
organization of effort was so prompt and so far-seeing in its 
plans that it seemed almost the result of inspiration. The 
first call for troops was issued on the IStli of April, 1861. 
On the 20th, the Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland was 
organized, with plans of operation and a selection of officers 
that served, with little change, through all its subsequent 
wonderful career of usefulness. Though this was perhaps 
the first of the series of societies organized for similar pur- 
poses, it was immediately followed by others all over the 
land, and there w^as nowhere a camp of instruction or 
rendezvous of troops that did not feel every hour of every 
day the benign influence which they exerted. 

Coming w^estward in the last days of June, as the repre- 
sentative of the Sanitary Commission, bringing with me 
its plan of organization, and aiming to secure co-operative 
effort throughout the West in the great purpose it was 
formed to subserve, I found the ground more than ready 
for the seed. In many places the crop had sprung up and 
was already bearing fruit. 

Of the benevolent societies, pre-existent, or established 
by my exertions, those located at certain important business 
centers w^ere chosen as Branches of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion. The field was distributed between those local centers, 
and soon, through the exertions of the devoted men and 
women who composed our Branches, a great army was 
systematically at work ministeiing to the wants of that 
other army which was fighting our battles in tlie Southern 
States. 



204 SAXITAEY COMMISSIOX — TTESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

In the brief sketches which follow, of the organization 
and history of otir Branches of the West, ^vill be found some 
evidence of the important contributions that they made to 
the cause, yet neither there nor here can I do anything like 
jitstice to the energy and efficiency of the noble philan- 
thropists who composed them. I am confident that, if the 
detailed history of the work of these Branches conld be 
given to the public, it would be fotmd to contain facts and 
figures which, in their magnitude and importance, cotild not 
fail to impress those who might hereafter read the records 
of otir war as the most surprising as well as honorable 
achievements of our people. 

Most of the points where our Branches were located 
became important military centers, where troops were con- 
centrated, garrisons or camps of mstruction established, 
and hospitals located ; all of which called for and received 
unceasing attention ft'om our co-laborers. To such a degree 
was this true, that in many cases the chief labor and care 
necessary for the well being of our troops seemed to be 
thrown upon oui" representatives. In the aggregate, many 
thousands were dependent upon them for their comfort, 
and a large mimber may be said to have owed to them 
theii- lives. At Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland, Louisville 
and elsewhere, the work of our Branches is not only referred 
to as matter of municii^al pride, but as constituting the 
grandest and noblest public work in wliich those cities have 
been interested. 

Aside from this local duty, which, in its magnitude, 
would seem to be sufficient to engross the entire time and 
thought of tliose immediately concerned in it, not a camp 
or liosi)ital throiigliout tlie wide fi(^kl of our militaiy opera- 
tions but felt, from the first to the last of the war, the 
benign iuibience of these benevolent organizations, not 
oiih- in tlie gciiei-oiis coiiti'ibritions of sup])lies which were 



CASH VALUE OF SUPPLIES. 205 

furnislied, but in the personal efforts of the numerous dele- 
gations of earnest and devoted men who went themselves to 
the field and ministered with their own hands to the wants 
of the sick and wounded. To say that, but for the estab- 
lishment of these Branch societies, the work of the Sanitary 
Commission would have been much less efiicient than it 
was. is but telling half the truth : for so important were 
the contributions which they made to the cause represented 
by the Commission, that we must ascribe to them the 
greater part of the success which cro^^med its efforts. 

By reference to the brief sketches I have given of the 
different Branches, it vriR be seen that their work was of 
various kinds. In addition to the local duties to which I 
have referred, and the gathering of supplies for the army, 
it included the establishment and maintenance of Soldiers' 
Homes. Claim Agencies, and Agencies for the Employment 
of Discharged Soldiers. Something of the part they per- 
formed in the work of the Supply Department may be 
learned fi'om the foUoA^ing brief sketch of the organization 
of that Department and summary of the results accom- 
plished by it, as given in one of my quarterly reports : 

The hospital stores distributed by the Sanitary Commis- 
sion in the armies of the West were mostly contributed 
in kind from the several Branches of the Commission in 
the Western States. In addition to such contributions, 
purchases of stores were made by me. from the general 
fund of the Commission, to the amount of three hundi'ed 
and thirty-two thousand six hundred and twenty dollars 
and sixty-nine cents. The supplies distributed by the 
Sanitary Commission in this Department to September 1, 
I860, are estimated to have had a value, at the water bases 
of the army, Cincinnati, Louisville, Caii'o and Memphis, 
of five million one liundred and twenty-three tliousand 
two hundred and fiftv-six dollars and twentv-nine cents. 



206 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTEEX DEPARTMENT. 

leaving, as the value of tlie contributions in stores by the 
Branches, four million seven hundred and ninety thousand 
six hundred and thirty -five dollars and sixty cents. 

In the accumulation and distribution of this great aggrer 
gate of stores, the foUo^^ing system was adopted : 

The raising of supplies was regarded as the especial 
work of our Branch and Auxiliary Societies in the home 
field. The methods pursued were their own, and the 
responsibility of the entire work was thrown iii^on them. 
I assumed no control over it. and took no part further than 
to furnish, by manuscript or printed reports, or by lec- 
tures, fi'esli and full information of the condition and 
wants of the Western armies, the means taken to meet 
such wants, and such other matters as had a particular 
bearing on the home work. From time to time pecuniary 
aid was needed by the Branch Societies, and it was liber- 
ally furnished. Canvassing agents, lecturers, messengers, 
and various other assistants in the work of the Supply 
Department, were placed at their disposal, and money paid 
them, fi'om the general fund of the Commission, to the 
amount of more than seventy thousand dollars. 

As soon as stores were ship23ed to me or my repre- 
sentatives, from the various contributing depots, I became 
responsible for their proper use, and was vested with the 
control of them. The stores passing through Ohio and 
Illinois were transported free by tlie splendid liberality of 
tiie ofiicers of the railroads terminating in Cincinnati and 
Cairo. Throughout the West, as a general rule, the rail- 
road companies carried our stores free, or made such 
deductions from their usual rates as to form a most liberal 
contribution to the funds of the Commission. Of these 
laili'oad companies I should designate as especially munifi- 
cent, in tli(Mr contribution to this charity by the transx^orta- 
tion of storos. tlie Illinois Central ; the Cleveland, Columbus 



FAYOES OF TEAXSPORTATIOX. 20? 

:and Cincinnati; tlie Columbus and Xenia, and the Little 
Miami. To Mr. Osborn, President of the Illinois Central ; 
Mr. Hubby and Mr. Flint, of the Cleveland, Columbus and 
Cincinnati ; Mr. Clements and Mr. AYoodward, of the Little 
Miami, we are under obligations for far more than mere 
gratuitous transportation of stores. By tlieii^ efforts an 
expenditure of fully one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
was saved to the Commission, and we owe to them especial 
facilities and favors such as no money could buy. 

Scarcely less valuable in the work of the Supply Depart- 
ment was the free use of the telegraph, cheerfully granted 
us over all the lines of the different companies in the West. 
To General Anson Stager, the able Superintendent of the 
Western Union Telegraph Company, we are largely indebted 
for the privileges we enjoyed in the use of the lines of his 
own and other companies. Duriug a large part of the war 
all shipments of Sanitary stores made by the river, on the 
Cincinnati Mail Boat Line, cost us nothing, through the 
generosity of the ofiicers of that line. To Captain Shiiiey, 
the President, especial acknowledgments are due for his 
influence in obtaining for us such privileges. During the 
last three years of the war free transportation was granted 
us, within the limits of the Military Departments, by 
special orders from the Quartermaster General, and fi'om 
the Department Commanding officers. It should be further 
stated that, from the first to the last, whatever facilities 
could be consistently granted to us by the Chief Quarter- 
master, General Meigs, were cheerfully accorded, and it is 
but justice to say that, both from his official position and 
personal character, we are as largely indebted to this officer 
as to any in the service of the Government. 

On the arrival of stores at Cairo or Louisville by rail- 
road or river, they were carefully checked off from boats or 
cars and transferred to our warehouses. Missing packages 



208 SAXITAEY COMMISSION — AVESTERN DEPARTMEXT. 

were looked up, and necessary repairs and cooperage pro- 
vided. From tliese points stores were rapidly forwarded, 
on tlie theory tliat any accnmulation of supplies slionld be 
as near tlie army as possible. At all important military 
stations, and in every hospital and distributing center, 
depots were established and placed in charge of competent 
business men, who issued stores to those needing them, on 
personal application or on the requisitions of surgeons of 
hospitals or regiments ; for all of which receipts were taken 
and records made. Weekly and monthly reports were sent 
to the Central Office of all issues from all depots, and from 
these reports, the tabular statements now or heretofore 
given of our aggregate issues are compiled. The manner 
in which the records of the Supply Department were kept, 
and the credibility of the reports made from them, can 
hardly be learned without an inspection of our books and 
methods, yet I think I can safely say that all of the mau}^ 
experienced men who have examined our system were 
satisfied that the methods pursued were economical of labor 
and money, and that the results reported are worthy of 
confidence. 

By reference to tlie accompanying financial report, 
it will be seen that the whole expeiiditure connected witli 
gathering and distributing hospital stores of the value 
of five million one hundred twenty-tliree thousand two 
hundred fifty-six dollars and twenty-nine cents, was one 
hundred ninety-six thousand two bundled thirty-seven 
dollars and eigliteen cents. Of this sum ninety-seven thou- 
sand three hundred forty-tAvo dollars and fifty-one cents 
was paid for the collection and transportation of supplies ; 
leaving, as the cost of distribution of supplies valued as 
above, ninety-eight thousand eight hundred ninety-four 
dollars and sixty-seven cents, or a little less tlian Iavo per 
('<*nt. of siicli value. 



SUPPLY TABLE. 



209 



If the transportation furnished ns gratuitously were 
given its cash, value and charged in the expense account 
of the Supply Department, that account would be greatly 
increased, but in that case it would be fair to reckon such 
transportation as conferring a corresponding value upon the 
stores distributed, so that, while our transactions would be 
represented by a more impressive array of figures, the 
relative magnitude of the expense account would remain 
about the same. 

If the work of the Supply Department at the West had 
been done as a commercial transaction ; the stores all pur- 
chased, the expenses of transporting and distributing all 
paid in cash, it is certain it could not have been done, where 
and as it was done, for a less sum than Tex Millioxs of 
DoLLAES. Leaving out of view the measureless moral 
good wi^ought by this work, both to the soldiers and to the 
people, the cash value of the gifts contributed to the army, 
through our organization, cannot be reckoned at a less sum 
than I have mentioned. 



REPORT OF STORES DISTRIBUTED 

BT THE 

UKITED STATES SAXITART COMMISSION, WESTERN DEPARTMEXT. 
BEDDING AND CLOTHING. 



ARTICLES. 



Bedgowns 

Bedticks- 

Blankets 

Bonnets 

Boots and Shoes 

Buttons, Shirt 

Calico 

Coats, Pants and Vests 

Collars 

Comforts and Quilts ... 

Crash 

Drawers, Cotton. 

Drawers, Flannel 



.pairs, 
.gross, 
.yards. 



.yards, 
.pairs, 
.pairs. 



Carried Forward. 



723 

33,271 

15,057 

44 

2,491 

223i 

377 

17,683 

555 

54,777 

100 

152,333 

75,789 



$ 2,893 

102,948 

60,228 

132 

6,228 

134 

149 

53,049 

56 

323,663 

20 

304,660 

189,473 



$1,043,630 



14. 



210 



SAXITAKT COMMISSIOX — WESTEKX DEPAKTMEXT. 



BEDDING AND CLOTUiy^G— Continued. 



Brought Forward. . 

Dresses 

Dressing Gowns 

Flannel 

Green Hollands 

Hats and Caps 

Havelofks. 

Haversarks 

Linen Thread 

Mittens 

Mosquito Bars 



.yards, 
.yards, 



-.lbs. 
.pairs 



Mu^ 



.yards, 



Napkins 

Neckties and Comforters.. 

Nightcaps 

Overalls 

Pillow Cases.- 

Pillows 

Rubber Blankets 

Rubber Capes 

Shawls 

Sheeting. 

Sheets 

Shirting 

Shirts, Cotton 

Shirts, Woolen 

Slippers 

Socks 

Straw . 

Suspenders 

Tape 

Tarlton...- 

Ticking 

Towels and Handkerchiefs 



yards, 
-vards. ; 



.pairs,! 
.pairs,! 
-bales,! 
.pairs, j 
..rolls, I 
.yards, I 
.yards, I 



17,SW 

2,098 

36 

2,120 

2,196 

836 

209 

22,219 

3,837 

3,257 

1,417 

2,324 

3,910 

70 

215,259 

113,306 

5 

5 

119 

439 

116,880 

1,569 

289,960 

97,093 

23,718 

147,803 

264 

3,267 

988 

50 

325 

439,979 



TOT.\L. 



VALUE. 



$1,043,630 

644 

71,456 

1,049 

36 

1,590 

1,048 

468 

314 

16,665 

9,593 

1,302 

354 

581 

1,970 

140 

161,494 

169,959 

25 

25 

238 

210 

233,760 

627 

579,920 

267,005 

17, 7 W 

110.851 

1,056 

1,633 

50 

30 

137 

107,495 



.$2,803,144 



HOSPITAL FURNITURE x^ND SURGEON'S SUPPLIES. 



Adhesive Plaster yards, 

Alcohol gallons,! 

lbs., I 



Alum. 

Arm Rests 

Bags 

Bandages, Abdominal. 
Jiasket. 



Bath Brick 

Bath Tubs 

Batt i ng bales. 

Bay Ru ni bott les. 

Bedpans 

Beds, Featlier 

Bods, Inflated 

Bedsteads a iid Cots, Wood 

Benclics and Lounges 

Binders' Boards fts.. 

Bitters bottles, 

Blackberrj' Root tt»s.. 

Carried Forward 



XUMBER. 


VALUE. 


1,934 


$ 967 


26 


104 


im 


10 


19,266 


9,63;^ 


1,995 


796 


1,143 


573 


183 


109 


23 


3 


32 


330 


10 


750 


74 


74 


447 


447 


24 


388 


1 


10 


1,683 


5,046 


45 


90 


10 


3 


978 


489 


137 


34 




$19,745 







REPORT OF STORES DISTRIBUTED. 



211 



HOSPITAL FURNITURE, -Etc.— Continued. 



ARTICLES. 


NUMBER. 


VALUE. 






$19,745 

610 

35 


Blackberry Syrup , .- 


gallons, 

... ... - . .. ...boxes. 


488 

170 

198 

372,131 

5,379 

39 

186 

1,087 

50 

176 

113 

70 

785 

3 

14 

19 

3 

48 

3,135 

479 

465 

83 

446 

143 

10 

1,174 

931 

370 

3,334 

338 

19 

8 

18 

105 

26 

35 

104 

58 

191 

140 

9,750 

2 

725 

133 

87 

675 

3 

60 

1,915 

88,952 

6,519 

30 

339 

2,055 

46 

113 

44 

4 

693,900 

6,034 

29,480 

140 

69 

180 

769 

2;^ 


Bladders 




50 


Books and Pamphlets 


37,313 
430 


Bowls - 


Bread Knives 


20 






186 


Brooms 


434 




15 


Brushes, Scrub 


44 




33 


Brushes, Whitewash 


56 


Buckets 


588 




45 


Butchers' Steels 


7 




tbs.. 


10 


Camp Chests 


30 




48 


Candles 


lbs.. 


640 


Candlesticks 


119 


Canes 


114 


Canteens 


41 






446 


Castors 


179 




400 


Chairs 


1,174 

460 




Charcoal 


lbs.. 


40 


Chlor X/ime 


lbs., 


333 




lbs.. 


830 


Chop Bowls and Knives 


30 




12 


Clocks 


144 




53 


Clothes Pins 


p-rnss. 


15 




165 


Coffins 


1,040 

74 


Coffee Mills_ _ - 


Coffee Pots 


191 


Cologne 


hnttlfts. 


70 




2,273 
450 


Cooking Ranges 


Copperas -. -. . . .- .- 


..lbs., 


36 


Corks 


o-rnss. 


100 


Corkscrews 


25 




3,375 
150 


Crockery 


bn-sTPs. 


Cruets .. .. .. . .-..' 


13 


Cups and Saucers 


153 


Cushions and Pads 


23 238 


Crutches 


9,777 


Desks 


300 


Dippers..- 


135 


Disinfecting Powders 

Door Mats 


.lbs.. 


1,103 
69 


Drinking Tubes 


10 


Bust Pans 


26 


Egg Beaters... . 


2 


Envelopes 


2,100 


Eye Shades... 


1,508 


Fans 


1474 
38 


Eaucets. 


Eeathers 


fts.. 


53 


Eeeders... 


27 


Finger Stalls 


77 


Flat Irons 


13 


Carried Forward -._ 


$111,648 











212 



SAiq^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 



HOSPITAL FURNITURE, Etc.— Co?Jtirmed. 



ARTICLES. 


NUMBER. 


VALUE. 


Brought Forward 




$m,648 
20 


Flaxseed 


___ ft)S.. 


663 

171 

12 

12 

6 

20 

12 

621 

11 

196 

4 

40 

112 

3,179 

7 

81 

2,646 

286 

26 

145 

479 

18 

152 

294 

45 

369,728 

42 

96 

101 

76 

223,000 

25 

90 

3 

10 

16 

12,655 

93 

1 

54 

266 

946 

12 

5,500 

278 

64 

340 

874 

7,161 

1,409 

600 

60 

134 

775 

281 

9 

4;],089 

422 

383 

5,731 

9,0<)2 

317 

144 

256 

239 


Flv Brushes 


171 


Flv Nets 


36 


Foot Scrapers 


12 




12 


Funnels 


5 


Furnaces... 


60 


Games .... ... 


155 


Glue 


ms^ 


6 




29 


Gridirons 


4 




lbs.. 


40 


Hatchets and Hammers 


110 


Hospital Furniture 

Ice Cream Freezers 


..miscellaneous articles. 


1,589 
35 


India Rubber Cloth 

Ink 


yards, 

bottles. 


71 

265 


Ink stands 


42 


Ladles .. 


13 


Lamp Chimneys 


22 


Lamp Oil 




360 


Lamp Shades 


9 




76 


Lanterns 


367 






90 


Lint and Bandages 


Bs., 


73,495 
21 


Little Usefuls . .. 


24 




150 


Looking Glasses . - -- - . ... 


ii> 


Lumber 


feet, 


6,690 


Lye, Concentrated 

Kettles, Camp 


lbs.. 


6 
190 




12 


Kettles, Iron 


50 


Kettles, Tin 


32 


Knives and Forks 


2,265 




93 


Mangles - -. .- 


40 


Matches 


gross, 


27 


Matting 




239 


Mattresses 


3,784 


Medicine 

Medicine AYafers 


..boxes, assorted. 


220 
:35 




28 


Mess Pans .. 


64 




168 




87 


Nails 


lbs.. 


501 


Needles 


papers. 


140 


Oakum 


...ll")S., 


60 


Oil Silk 


vards. 


45 


Pans, Baking 


93 


Patent Medicine 


bottles. 


388 
''19 


Pens 


trross. 


168 




2 




8,618 


Pins 


naners. 


42 


Pitchers 


15;^ 


Plates, Crockery . 


573 


Plates, Tin - - 


909 


Quinine 


oz.. 


1,268 


tlazcirs and Strops 


144 


Salt Cellars 


30 


Salve 


boxes, 


25 




$216,421 











KEPOET OF STORES DISTRIBUTED. 



213 



HOSPITAL FURNITURE, 'Etc.— Continued. 



ARTICLES. 


NUMBER. 


VALUE. 


Brought Forward 




$216,421 
93 


Sauce Pans -- - 


93 
36 

193 
153 

68 

34 

57 

10,651 

20 

20 

1,857 

1,066 

34 

1,420 

443 

14,341 

2,708 

3 

997 

61 

56 

20 

17 

54 

134 

145 

57 

30,879 

259 

377 

26 

12 

1,338 

153 

389 

30 

740 

5 

1,053 

45 

24 

25 

520 

28 

112 

30 

29 

12 

125 
575 
36 


Saws -- - 


86 






115 


Sconces 


122 




68 


Skimmers - 


5 


Slates - 


10 


Soap 


lbs.. 


2,130 


Soft Soap 


barrels, 


100 






20 


Spit Cups 


371 




519 


Splints 


hn-srps. 


340 


Spools Thread--. 


213 


Sponges 


fts.. 


443 


Spoons.. .. ..... . .. .. .. . 


573 


Stationery 


rfifims. 


8,124 


Steamers I 


12 


Stone Jugs 


199 


Stoves and Furniture, Cooking. 


1,830 


Stoves, Fire . . . 


1,120 
10 


Strainers 


Stretchers 


51 


Syrup Cups 


15 


Table Cloths 


302 


Tables 


1,450 


Tea Pots 


45 


Tin Cups 


3,070 


Tin Pails 


259 


Tin Pans 


377 


Tin Ware 


hnvpe 


390 


Towel Rollers... . ' 


6 


Tumblers... .^ 


200 


Twine and Rope 

Urinals 


Bs., 


76 
116 


Taccine Virus 

Vegetable Dishes 


packages. 


90 
518 


"Wardrobes.. 


40 


Wash Basins 


560 


Wash Boards 


13 


Wash Boilers, Copper . . 


120 


Wash Boilers, Tin.. 


100 


Wash Bowls 


416 


Wash Machines ... 


224 


Wash Stands 


224 


Wash Tubs 


45 


Waiters 


45 


Water Casks 


24 


Water Coolers 


160 


Water Filters.. 


20 


White Lead... . 


m«. 


12 


Window Curtains 


1,150 


Window Fastenings 


18 


Total, 






$243,010 







214 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

ARTICLES OF DIET AND DELICACIES. 



ARTICLES. 




Ale and Cider 


gallons, 




lbs., 


Apples 


bushels. 


Apple Butter 


. gallons, 




lbs.. 


Barley 


lt)S., 






Beef, Concentrated 


lbs., 

.. .lbs.. 


Beef, Dried 


lbs., 


Beef. Fresh 


lbs., 


Beets 


bushels, 




bottles. 


Bread' 


lbs.. 


Bronia 


lt)S., 


Butter 


lbs., 


Cabbasre 


bushels. 


Cakes and Cookies 

Carrots 


lbs., 

bushels. 




bottles, 


Cocoa 


lbs.. 


Codfish 


lbs.. 




lbs.. 




lbs.. 


Chicken Soup 


lbs.- 


Chickens 


Chocolate 


lbs.. 


Cigars 




- .lbs.. 


Citric Acid 


lbs.. 




. .. cans. 


Clams, Concentrated 


lbs.. 


Cloves -. 


lbs., 


Coffee 


lbs.. 


Coffee, Extract 

Corn, Dried 


lbs., 

-lbs., 


Corn, Green 


bushels, 




lbs.. 


Corn, Parched 

Corn Starch 


lbs., 

lbs.. 


Crackers 


lbs.. 








lbs.. 




bushels. 




Fui-ina 


lt>s., 


Fi'-'s 


ir)s.. 


Flavorin"' Extracts 


bottles. 


Flour 


barrels, 


Fruit, Dried 


.. .lbs.. 




cans. 


Gelatine 


..ms.. 


Gin"er 


fts., 


Ginj^er, Extract 


bottles. 


Gooseberries 


quarts, 




lbs.. 


Groats 


H^s., 


Groceries, Assorted 

Halibut 


lbs., 

fts.. 


Hams 


.lbs.. 


Herbs 


lbs.. 


Herri ncTS 


boxes, 


l-Tfiminv 


lbs.. 




ir)s., 


Hops 


. .lbs., 


Horse Radish 


bottles, 


Ice - . 


tons, 



31,979 

30 

5,600 

10,920 

3,404 

39,224 

1,516 

185,423 

22,305 

31,980 

9,443 

2,881 

7,956 

31,780 

183 

117,293 

1,992 

8,754 

296 

4,205 

1,420 

151,728 

20,397 

3,761 

1,007 

3,050 

1,545 

1.560 

178 

96 

144 

554 

77 

4,697 

1,115 

1,947 

2,4:37 

59,499 

750 

22,215 

.559,421 

880 

46 

1,1133 

54,302 

35,300 

145 

860 

88-1- 

989,711 

181,626 

106i 

533 

163 

384 

5,754 

2,100 

15,395 

100 

15,770 

3,618 

50 

2,515 

996 

1,138 

4,846 

522i 



Carried Forward. 



REPORT OF STORES DISTRIBUTED. 



215 



ARTICLES OF DIET. Btc— Continued. 



ARTICLES. 




NUMBER. 


VALUE. 


Brought Forward 






$755,989 


Indigo lbs.. 


1 

31 

920 

29 

l,i5.56 

1,420 

10,676 

3,732 

8,856 

26 

231 

1,540 

5,491 

194,380 

15,540 

1,852 

3,042 

1,641 

253 

1,008 

2,425 

100 

156 

83,638 

5,787 

722 

2,131 

926 

3.515 

962 

1,928 

359.677 

3,219 

3,974 

29 

654 

2,218 

1,440 

208,134i 

282 

5,717 

1,1.52 

1.225 

600 

1,431 

4,481 

891 

3.999 

184 

4.858 

330 

1,456 

9,868 

56 

28 

261,992 

865 

133 

400 

12,602 

100 

792 

84.775 

584 

904 

5,372 


1 


Isinglass 


lbs , 


62 


Lard 


lbs., 


184 


Hickory Nuts 

Lemons and Oranges 

Lemon Extract 

Lemon Syrup 

Lettuce 


-.bushels, 

boxes, 

bottles, 

bottles, 

bushels. 


42 

18,560 

994 

7,473 

7,464 


Lime Juice 


bottles, 


4,428 


Lobsters 


cans, 


13 


Macaroni 


B)s.. 


72 


Mackerel 


231 


Melons 


1,098 


Milk, Concentrated 

Milk, Fresh' 


Rs., 

quarts. 


87,471 
1,243 


Mustard 


. lbs., 


926 


Mustard Plant - - 

Mutton, Fre=;h 


■- bushels. 


6,084 
296 


Mutton Tallow 

Nutmegs 


B>s., 


50 
151 


Oat Meal 


lbs.. 


242 


Oats 


bushels. 


75 


Okra 




332 


Onions 


bushels, 


188,1&5 


Oysters 


cans 


5,787 


Parsnips 


bushels. 


1,083 


Peaches 


bushel'', 


4,261 


Peas 




3,704 


Pepper . 


lbs.. 


1,758 


Peppers 


dozens. 


240 


Pepper Sauce 

Pickles 


bottles. 


578 
143,871 


Pie Plant 


lbs.. 


323 


Pies 


397 


Pigs' Feet 


kegs. 


145 


Pop Corn ..- - --- 


-- --- --- -- lbs., 


65 


Pork, Fresh 


lbs., 


332 


Porter 


bottles. 


432 


Potatoes . 


bushels. 


260,168 


Pretzels 


lbs., 


56 


Prunes 


The 


1,713 


Pumpkins 


157 


Radishes _ -- 


--iDushels, 


4,900 


Raisins. 


lbs.. 


180 


Raspberry Vinegar 

Rice 


bottles, 

lbs.. 


705 
672 


Sage 


lbs.. 


445 


Sago --. ,. - 


- lbs., 


1.197 


Saleratus 


lbs., 


27 


Salt 


lbs.. 


97 


Sardines 


boxes. 


160 


Sausases 


lbs., 


218 


Shoulders 


lbs.. 


1,480 
14 


Slippery Elm 


lbs. 


Soda 


Tbs., 




Sour-krout--. _ . 




78,598 


Spices, Mixed 


lbs.. 


433 


Spi nach 


bushels, 


266 


Split Peas 




60 


Squashes 

Starch 


''^''^i'''^^^^^'^'^'^y'S)s^, 


2,520 
15 


Strawberries 

Sugar 


quarts, 

lbs., 


114 
16 954 


Sweet Potatoes 

Syrup and Molasses 

Tamarinds 


bushels, 

quarts, 

lbs., 


1,168 

271 

1,074 






Carried Forward- 




$1,018,390 



216 SA>fITARY COMMISSION — WESTERl^q" DEPARTMENT. 

ARTICLES OF DIET, BTC.—Contirmed. 



ARTICLES. 


NUMBER. 


VALUE. 


Brought Forward -- 




$1,618,390 


Tapioca 


lbs.. 


3,095 

26,7261 

6,434 

17,507i 

3,802 

6,600 

769 

139 

413 

161 

11,205 

1,533 

40,064 

300 

68,508 

279 

33,591i 


928 


Tea, Green and Black 

Toast 


lbs., 

lt)S., 


40,090 
643 


Tobacco --- --- --- - --- 


lbs., 


15,254 


Tomatoes 


bushels. 


7,604 


Tomatoes 

Tongues 


large cans, 


6,600 
384 


Turkeys 


210 


Turnips 


bushels, 


413 


Vermicelli - 


lbs.. 


48 


Vinegar 


gallons. 


3,363 


Wheat, Cracked 

Whisky 


lbs., 

. bottles. 


153 

40,064 


AVhitefish 


lbs.. 


30 


TTine - 


bottles. 


51,381 


Yeast Cakes 

Vegetables, Assorted - 


- dozens, 

bushels, 


70 
55,388 


Total, 


$1,841,011 







MISCELLANEOUS. 



Awnings - 

Baggage Checks 

Bandage Rollers 

Bottles, Empty --. 

Coal 

Coal Hods 

Cultivators 

Drills, Seed 

Flags, Large 

Flags, Small 

Fruit Cans 

Glass 

Hoes 

Hospital Car Trucks-. 

Knitting Machines 

Lampblack 

Linseed Oil 

Maps 

Mule Ambulances 

Onion Sets 

Packing Cases 

Pictures and Frames. 

Pipes 

Plants, (Cabbage 

Plants, Sweet Potato. 

Plants, Tomato 

Plows 

Postage Stamps 

Pri nti ng I'ress 

Pumps, Iron 

Pumps, Tin 

Rakes 

Itefrigerators 

Rubber (Jar Loops 



.pairs, 
.tons, 



.boxes, 
...sets, 



lbs.. 

.gallons. 



.bushels, 



13 

504 

18 

7,640 

1,176 

50 

4 

2 

13 

536 

113 

3 

165 

3 

1 

36 

15 

12 

8 

1301 

126,734 

137 

3,743 

35,000 

25,000 

35,000 

30 

61,428 

1 

5 

2 

73 

2 

450 



Carried Forward 



EEPOET OF STORES DISTEIBUTED. 



217 



MISCELLANEOUS— ContiJiwed. 



Brought Forward - 

Safes 

Seeds, Flower 

Seeds, Garden 

Sewing Machines 

Spades 

Tools, Joiner's. -. 

Trucks, Warehouse 

Turpentine 

TJninvoiced Boxes 

Weighing Scales 

Window Sash 

Wood -- 



papers, 

.packages, 



.gallons, 
...cords. 



6,357 

324 

1 

20 



46 

5,564 

10 

58 



$65,145 

600 

315 

2,500 

50 

25 

56 

60 

46 

164,100 

40 

134 

3,140 



Total. 



$236,211 



RECAPITULATION. 



VALUE OF STORES DISTRIBUTED. 



Bedding and Clothing 

Hospital Furniture and Surgeon's Supplies 

Articles of Diet and Delicacies 

Miscellaneous 

Grand Total, 



$2,803,144 

243,010 

1,841,011 

236,211 



$5,123,376 



CHAPTER II. 



N ( ) E T II - W E S T E R N S A X I T A E Y C O K M I S S I O X . 



OF T HE 

Uis'ITED STATES SAXITAKY COMMISSION. 



I APPEOAGii the task of sketching the origin and history 
of the Chicago Branch of tlie Commission with more 
hesitation tlian I have felt in attempting to describe any 
other portion of our work at tlie West. As I review in my 
mind the career of usefulness of this organization, during 
the five years through which it was constantly growing 
from great to greater in the work it accomplished, the 
impossibility of doing anything like justice to this work in 
the space at my disposal must render tlie duty as unsatis- 
factory to others as it cannot fail to be to myself. Happily 
posterity will liave other means of learning what was done 
by the people of the jSTorth-west in the work for which the 
Sanitary Commission was created, for in the two histories 
of the North-western Commission — the one, by an individual 
sharing in and fully identified with that woi*k ; tlie otlier, 
by tlie historian of the Suppl}^ Department of the Sanitary 
Commission — we may expect that its magnitude and value 
to the army will be set forth with something like tin? nnipli- 
tude and detail which it so Avell deserves. 

I am compelled, by the circumstances under which I 
write, to depend i'ov my facts mainly upon my own intimate 



CHICAGO BEAKCH. 219 

acquaintance with the workings of tliis Commission, and 
must limit myself to generalities even in reporting tliese 
facts ; leaving to others the amplification and the deductions 
from them of the important lessons which they so plainly 
teach. 

In the round of visits which I made in the autumn of 
1861 through the Western cities, for the purpose of securing 
co-operation in tlie work of tlie Sanitary Commission, as I 
have before stated, I found a wide-spread interest in the 
objects of my mission, which gave me ready listeners to 
any communication I had to make. In Missouri our mili- 
tary operations had already commenced, and the necessity 
for supplementary aid to our army had pressed itself upon 
the citizens of St. Louis so urgently that a system of relief 
had already been effected tliere, and the ' ' Western Sanitary 
Commission" had so far completed its arrangements to 
supply the needs in that vicinity that it chose to retain its 
form of organization, and continued as an independent body 
throughout the war. On my arrival in Chicago in October 
I learned that some meetings had already been held there, 
and a movement inaugurated toward the same end, in 
which some of our Associate Members had taken an active 
part. These gentlemen and other kindred spiiits were 
invited to- my room at the Sherman House, and when I had 
explained to them the plans of the Sanitary Commission 
and laid its documents before them, they at once saw tlie 
benefit of co-operative effort, and united in the organization 
of the society of which the subsequent history has been 
so eventful. At its organization the Society was composed 
as follows : 

President .._Hox. MARK SKINNER. 

Tr- r> V7 * ( Ret. O. H. tiffany, D. D. 

Vice Presidents } x i , . 

( Ret. W. W. PATTON, D. D. 

Recording Secretary and Treasurer H. E. SEEL YE. 

Corresponding Secretary and Assistant Treasiircr..'E. W. BLATCHFORD. 



220 SAJs'ITAET COMMISSION — WESTERJiT DEPARTMENT. 

The names of tliese gentlemen were inseparabl}^ con- 
nected with all the subsequent work of the Commission; 
each contributing an amount of industry, intelligence and 
intiuence that seemed vital to its success. Before the 
close of the war, Judge Skinner was forced by ill health 
to resign the Presidency, and Hon. E. B. McCagg was 
appointed his successor ; bringing to the position personal 
influence and qualities that added largely to the already 
great strength of the Board. Judge Skinner and Mr. 
McCagg were made full members of the United States 
Sanitary Commission, and from time to time made the long 
journey to Washington to attend its sessions. On Mr. 
Blatchford, as Corresponding Secretary and Acting Treas- 
urer, a vast amount of duty of various kinds naturally 
devolved, yet, though burdened with the care of a large 
and increasing business, his time and ability were ever at 
the service of the Commission, in which they had a value 
that cannot be over-estimated. In this, as in eveiy other 
good enterprise, he "pulled the stroke oar," and we might 
search the country over in vain to find one better qualified 
in heart, hand and business experience for the important 
duty he was called to perform. Immediately after the 
Commission had "a local habitation and a name" in 
Chicago, Mr. Blatchford went as a volunteer to the relief of 
the troops in Missouri, where, with Rev. Robert Collier, he 
accomi)lished much in softening to our soldiers the peculiar 
rigors of that memorable campaign. Soon after, Dr. Patton 
and Dr. Isham went as delegates of the Society to Cairo, 
Mound City, etc., and on their return published an interest- 
ing report of their work and observations, which appeared 
in the sei-ies of Sanitary Commission documents. 

In complian(M^ with tlie request of our agent stationed 
at Cairo in the winter of 1861-2, the means were furnished 
by tlie Chicago Branch for the establishment of the Soldiers' 



CHICAGO BKAKCH. 221 

Home at that point. This Home, first located in an aban- 
doned Grovernment hospital, was subsequently transferred 
to buildings erected especially for it by the co-operation 
of the North-western Branch, the general Board of the 
Commission and G-eneral Grant. Thus it was made capable 
of affording comfortable shelter, clothing and subsistence 
to two hundred thousand sick, disabled or furloughed 
soldiers, for whom no other asylum was provided. 

The work of the Chicago Commission gradually ex- 
panded, until, in addition to all other duties, upon the 
first of January, 1863, it had forwarded to the army four 
thousand five hundred packages of stores. This result, 
creditable as it was to those concerned in it, was far from 
satisfying them, and feeling the great pressure of the 
demands, and knowing the resources of the fields in which 
they were placed, they felt the necessity of a more thorough 
canvass. To draw forth the needed supplies they recog- 
nized the fact that woman' s help was indispensable, and in 
a lucky hour called to their assistance two women, Mrs. 
Livermore and Mrs. Hoge, who proved to be possessed of 
unequaled qualifications for the work, and who supplied 
just the elements necessary for the highest success. These 
admirable ladies immediately introduced a system of cor- 
responding and canvassing, by which the interest of the 
Great West in our cause was greatly stimulated and drawn 
to this one focus. Contributions began to pour in from 
Northern Illinois, the greater part of Wisconsin, Western 
Michigan and Northern Indiana, so that before the end of 
the year the contributions of the Society had increased 
fourfold. 

The following spirited extract from the lately published 
history of the Chicago Branch will serve as an example of 
its rapid growth in efficiency from this period, and of the 
promptness and energy that pervaded all its operations : 



222 SAI^ITARY COMMISSIOI^ — WESTEKN^ DEPARTMENT. 

Earl}' in Marcli tlie Chicago Commission issued an appeal to the 
North-west for anti-scorbutics to be used in the army of General 
Grant. It was dated March 4, 1863, was short and very urgent. 
In addition to this little circular, which was scattered broadcast 
throughout the North-west, and to articles inserted in the Chicago 
daily journals, the Commission telegraphed concerning the emer- 
gency to many of its larger auxiliaries. The following are specimens 
of despatches thus forwarded : 

Rush forward anti-scorbutics for General Grant's army. 

Mark Skinner. 

General Grant's army in danger of scurvy. Rusli forward anti-scorbutics. 

Mark Skinner. 

These telegrams were sent to Milwaukee, Detroit, Aurora, 
Ottawa, Mendota, Eock Island, Beloit, Belvidere, Kenosha, Madi- 
son, Kacine, Freeport, Sheboygan, Whitewater, West Milwaukee, 
Ann Arbor, Adrian, Battle Creek, Grand Eapids, Galesburg, Hills- 
dale, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Leroy, Laporte, and many other places. 

Then ensued a passage in the history of the North-west that 
was one of the most remarkable of the varied experiences of the 
Aid Societies. It was March, the month of the vernal equinox. 
Vigorous rains had taken the place of the cloudy, sullen weather of 
the winter. The rich, black soil of the North- west, saturated and 
more than ever adhesive, offered an almost impassable barrier to 
locomotion. But neither rain nor mud was heeded. Wherever the 
telegrams were sent, wherever the circulars were directed, wherever 
the newspapers were read, there immediately went abroad commit- 
tees, begging anti-scorbutics for the soldiers. 

The towns were divided into districts, and every house was 
"visited ; a central depot of deposit was appointed, to which hum- 
ble and rich were alike invited to send contributions. In the 
country, committees went in wagons, begging as they went, and 
taking possession of what was given, as they labored from house to 
house. This was done day after day, first in one direction, then in 
another, through mud and rain, by men and women. These collec- 
tions were made by the delicate lady, who could ill bear the 
exposure; by the farmer's wife, who could ill spare the time; by 
the tradesman, who could ill neglect his business; by the clergyman, 



CHICAGO BEANCH. 323 

who could ill forego his strength. To remarks deprecating such 
effort, the answer was, "Our soldiers do not stop for the weather; 
neither must we." 

There were but small quantities of these articles in the North- 
west, compared to the usual abundance ; for what had escaped a 
destructive drought which prevailed the preceding summer, had 
been in a great measure destroyed by the " rot " of the wet winter 
just closing. Illinois had but few of the desired vegetables; in 
some localities " not enough for planting ;" in others none at all. 
Michigan was a little better off; Wisconsin was still more fortunate, 
and so was Iowa. But whatever the supply, whether great or small, 
it was cheerfully divided with the soldier. In quantities descend- 
ing from bushels to pecks, from pecks to quarts, from quarts, in 
some instances, to a handful, the precious stores were gathered. 
The same causes which had destroyed the onion crop had dimin- 
ished, also, the articles used for pickles, and these were gathered in 
a similar manner. Cabbage pits were opened, explored and rifled ; 
horseradish w^as dug and added to the collection. 

From Wisconsin, and those localities which had not suffered 
through the causes mentioned, the consignments came " rushing 
forward." They filled the depot ; they overflowed upon the side- 
walk; they encroached even upon the street in front of the 
Commission rooms. As fast as they arrived they were forw^arded, 
and their places occupied by others. Milwaukee, West Milwaukee, 
Racine and Whitewater, each large shipping points, hurried to 
Chicago car load after car load of the precious, homely vegetables, 
more valuable now than gold. A few farmers of the little towns of 
Windsor, Bristol and Spring Prairie, Wisconsin, volunteered and 
forwarded two hundred and twenty-eight bushels. The shipment 
from Whitewater was the largest and the most remarkable. 

The Aid Societies gave themselves up to the occasion. Regular 
meetings, extra meetings, and canvassing expeditions filled up the 
time. Begging committees were ordered to report on certain days, 
and the whole Society, in its anxiety, came together to hear of their 
success. These gatherings were, with ready tact, seized and made 
useful for the packing and forwarding of the onions and potatoes, 
and for the preparation of the sour-krout and horseradish. " Pick- 
ling meetings," as they were called, became the reigning reunions 
of the Aid Societies. Barrels and kegs were begged and purchased ; 



224 SAKITAEY COMMISSION — WESTER]^" DEPAETMENT. 

sour-kront cutters were borrowed or hired ; men were employed to 
use them in reducing the cabbage to the requisite fineness; the 
"aids" packed it with hiyers of salt between, and yinegar was 
poured over the whole. Meanwhile the " grating committee," amid 
much rallying and with many tears, was courageously working at 
the horseradish. 

Besides the large quantities of anti-scorbutics so freely given, 
the Commission purchased all that could be found in Chicago. 
This resource exhausted, Aid Societies and agents were employed 
to buy in the surrounding country. On this and on several similar 
occasions, the Commission thus swept the market, and sensibly 
affected prices. 

As rapidly as possible, during the month of March, 1863, were 
shipped from Chicago to the army of General Grant all the anti- 
scorbutics that could thus be collected by free-will offering and by 
purchase. All through the month, potatoes and onions, sour- 
krout and pickles, rolled across the Central Eailroad, and sailed 
down the Mississippi. A line of vegetables connected Chicago and 
Vicksburg. l^ot less than a hundred barrels a day were shipped, 
and generally the average was more. In two days, in the middle of 
the month, were forwarded three hundred and forty-four packages, 
of which three hundred and fourteen were vegetables. The average 
of vegetable shipments was a thousand barrels a week, and other 
Sanitary supplies were not sensibly abated. One delegation alone 
from the Chicago Branch to Yicksburg, took with it during this 
month thirty tons of supplies. 

This movement is more striking from the fact that the Govern- 
ment had endeavored to obtain these articles and had failed. But 
for the Sanitary Commission the army would have gone without 
them. General and medical officers present with the troops at 
Vicksburg bore testimony to these facts, and to the incalculable 
value of the shipments made by the Chicago Branch at this time. 

No exertion, no sacrifice, was considered too great to be made in 
behalf of the army investing Vicksburg. Nothing could have been 
devised better calculated to arouse and unite the West, than the 
claim of the South to the exclusive control of the Mississippi. Had 
even an a])pearance of discrimination been made in favor of some 
Western localities, parties or classes, the Southern sympathizers, who 
were scattered in every Western State, might have found a fulcrum 



CHICAGO BRAXCH. 225 

whereon to plant a lever. But one unanswerable reply, when all 
others failed, closed every mouth ; and that consisted in a scornful 
reference to the possibility of submitting to the deadly affront 
offered the West through its great river, its noble highway, its 
pride, and its inalienable heritage. " And so you would give up the 
Mississippi, would you ?" withered ' all discussion, and neutralized 
all antagonism. 

The same struggle that had been instituted during March 
against scurvy in the Army of the Mississippi, commenced in April 
on behalf of the Army of the Cumberland. Beginning on April 
18th, the Chicago Commission sent a car load, or about one hundred 
and twenty-five barrels, daily, for several successive days, to the 
army of General Eosecrans. Two car loads were sent on two 
successive nights to Louisville, for the hospital in charge of Dr. 
Woodward, near Murfreesboro. For a time the great press of vege- 
table shipments for Murfreesboro crowded out all other supplies. 

* * H^ H< ji^ jy^^j j^QJ^ ]jQ uninteresting to state here that, from 
January to July, the Chicago Branch had thus shipped eighteen 
thousand four hundred and sixty-eight bushels of vegetables. Of 
other anti-scorbutics, it forwarded in that time sixty-one thousand 
and fifty-six pounds dried fruit, three thousand six hundred and 
fifty-eight cans of fruit, and three hundred and eighty-seven 
packages of pickles. In the month of June alone, it shipped two 
thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven packages, of which two 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine were for the army investing 
Yicksburg, leaving sixty-eight packages only for other localities 
during that month. One of these shipments filled eight cars. 

In the first six months of this same year, viz., from January to 
July, 1863, the Commission had received into its treasury contribu- 
tions amounting to forty-two thousand one hundred and fifty-eight 
dollars and fourteen cents. * * * ♦ >j< 

To estimate aright the liberality of the ISTorth-west in the 
Sanitary cause, it should be kept in mind that this section, however 
rich in prospects and resources, was as yet poor compared with 
other portions of our common country. It had no class of retired 
merchant princes ; of professional gentlemen receiving large emolu- 
ments from sinecures, which left them time, as well as money, to 
bestow at pleasure; of families enjoying long established and 
hereditary wealth ; of gentlemen and ladies born to a fortune. If 

15 



226 SAN"ITAEY COMMISSION" — WESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

time was given, it was taken from the calls of a profession or the 
duties of a business to Avliich time w^as emphatically money; if 
money was giyen, it was taken from an income none too large, or 
from a capital every dollar of which had its use. If women 
attended to the requirements of the xVid Society, it was to intermit 
the needful w^atch and ward that prevented houseliold waste, and 
that could ill be dispensed with. The population, too, was sparse, 
wliich added to the labor. 

JSTot satisfied witli this great result, these ladies conoeived 
the idea of holding, for the beiielit of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, a Fair upon a scale up to that time not imagined 
possible. B}^ a system of correspondence and visitation all 
parts of the great Held tributary to Chicago were canvassed, 
and on the last week of October the Fair was opened. In 
boldness and S3'mmetry of plan, in the many jjoints of 
interest included, and in the enthusiasm wliich inspired all 
classes and conditions, all sects and sections, in tlieir contri- 
butions to and enjoyment of the Fair, it was altogether 
beyond precedent. In the inception of tlie enterprise it 
was boldly claimed by its lady- patronesses that twe]ity-five 
thousand dollars might be raised by the eftbi't. In fact 
nearly eighty thousand dollars were realized by the Fair 
and paid into the treasuiy of tlie societ}^ This result, so 
gratifying to those immediately concerned in the enterprise, 
and surprising to the whole countiy, forms but a small 
jiart of the good fruit which it bore ; for, stimulated by the 
example set by Chicago, at a later period, Cincinnati, Cleve- 
land and Pittsburgh, at the West, and Philadelphia, New 
York, Brooklyn, Boston and all the other great cities at 
the East, lield in succession their Sanitary Fairs, by which 
several millions of dollars Avere made available for the pur- 
poses of pui(3 benevolence. Among the many great events 
crowded into our live years' war there is perhaps notliing of 
which wc^ as a people, can ])e moi'e justly proud than tliis 



CHICAGO BEAXCH. 227 

series of Sanitary Fairs ; considered either in relation to 

the grand scale on wliicli they were planned, the beaut}^ 

and good taste that characterized their embellishment, the 

harmony and enthusiasm that reigned among the thousands 

who attended them, or the unparalleled i3ecuniary results 

which followed. For all this chain of surprising results 

we must give the praise in large part to those ladies who 

planned and carried to successful execution the first and 

confessedly the most difficult step. 

In the spring of 1865, another Fail' was held by the 

Chicago Commission, on a grander scale and with much 

larger pecuniary results than the first. The sum realized 

from this Fair was two hundred and twenty thousand 

dollars, which, by the close of the war, was fortunately not 

all needed for the purpose designed in its accumulation. 

The unexhausted balance was appropriated as follows : 

Soldiers' Home $80,008 25 

Christian Commission 50,000 00 

By the J^orth-western Commission, as by that of Cincin- 
nati, a monthly bulletin was published for the information 
of its contributors, and a great number of appeals and 
circulars issued, all of which had a bearing upon the sup- 
plies received, and consequently upon our work. It was 
also true that at Chicago, as at all other points where 
our Agencies were established, they became the center 
of benevolent eifort of various kinds ; the places of ren- 
dezvous of all cases of destitution or suffering in any way 
consequent upon the war ; and it may be safely said that, 
of all these thousands of applications for aid, none really 
deserving were turned empty away. 

The Soldiers' Home at Chicago did not depend exclu- 
sively upon the Sanitary Commission for its management, 
but drew largely upon it for its support. The Pension 
Agency at this point was sustained from the general fund 



228 SAiq^ITARY COMMISSIONS" — WESTERN DEPAETMEKT. 

of the Commission, but our agent received all possible 
assistance in liis work from the gentlemen of the Branch 
Commission, and whatever he did at this point may be 
considered as an integral portion of their work. 

A brilliant snmmaiy of the work of the Chicago Branch 
is given in the following extract from the tinal pages of its 
published history : 

On the -thirtieth day of November, 1865, the last entry was 
made on the Eecord Book of the North-western Branch. On that 
day a meeting of the Commission was held, and the oflSce was 
closed immediately thereafter. 

Over THREE THOUSAND Aid Societies were tributary to this 
Branch. Allowing them an average of ten members, there were 
thirty thousand patriotic women in the North-west belonging to 
these organizations. This was the army at home which was mar- 
shaled by the North-western Sanitary Commission. Add the num- 
bers of other women who came forward on occasion, as, after a 
battle, and in behalf of the Fairs; add the numbers of generous 
men who kept its coffers replenished, or who gave their gifts in 
kind ; add the " little ones,'' who were constantly seeking to assist 
the work; add the clergymen who constantly sustained, and the 
editors who constantly advocated it ; and it will be seen what a 
wide-spread, deep-seated hold the Sanitary Commission had on the 
affections of the North-west. 4c * * * * 

In the four years of its ei^istence, the North-western Commis- 
sion disbursed seventy-seven thousand six hundred and sixty pack- 
ages from its storehouse, and four liundred and five thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-two dollars and sixty-six cents from its treasury. 
It received thirty-one tliousand nine hundred and sixty-nine of 
these packages from its tributaries, and the remainder it purchased. 

The first Sanitary Fair brought to this Branch the sum of 
seventy-two thousand six hundred and forty-five dollars and eight 
cents, and the Dubuque Fair fifty thousand three hundred and 
forty-eight dollars, which are included in the above estimate. The 
second Sanitary Fair brought it the sum of eighty-four thousand 
three hundred and sixty-four dollars and sixty-seven cents. From 
otbcr sources, seven ty-Cour tliousand six liundred and sixty-five 



CHICAGO BRAKCH. 229 

dollars and fifty-one cents. These, added to the above, make the 
whole money receipts of this Branch amount to four hundred and 
eleven thousand and twenty-seven dollars and thirty-five cents. Of 
packages it received, as stated, thirty-one thousand nine hundred 
and sixty-nine, and disbursed seventy-seven thousand six hundred 
and sixty. 

The value of the whole disbursements amounted to one million 
fifty-six thousand one hundred and ninety-two dollars and sixteen 
cents. 

This is the Sanitary work which was accomplished during the 
war by the Aid Societies of the North-west. This is what they 
achieved by their devotion, enthusiasm and patriotism. This is 
the brilliant result of their self-denying, tireless, abundant labors. 
This is what they did for their country in its hour of need. This 
is their record and their monument. 

This Branch did, also, the work of the Union and of the Freed- 
men's Commission, before either of these organizations found 
existence. This is a part of its unrecorded labor, which has never 
had an accurate estimate. But so much is on record, viz., that it 
furnished transportation for the supplies raised on behalf of these 
interests, and disbursed for them, in money and goods, over fifty 
thousand dollars. 

For the North- western Christian Commission, it furnished 
largely the transportation and traveling passes needed by its supplies 
and agents. And from the proceeds of the last Sanitary Fair, it 
voted to give the Christian Commission the sum of fifty thousand 
dollars, and faithfully executed the agreement. 



CHAPTER III. 



wiscoNSii^ soldiers' aid society. 



nyciLWjLTJiKZEE s:Eij^israT3: 



or THE 



UNITED STATES SAJ^ITAEY COMMISSION. 

Tnouaii sending its contributions tlirougii the JSTorth- 
western Brancli of the Sanitary Commission, and thereby, 
to a certain extent, sinking its identity in the great propor- 
tions of that noble organization ; still, as the exponent of 
the benevolence of the great and gro\Aing State of Wiscon- 
sin, and in virtue of the grand work it accomplished, the 
Wisconsin Soldiers' Aid Society richly deserves not only 
specific mention, but a far fuller history than my space 
will permit me to give of it. As is known to all, Wisconsin 
is rapidly becoming not only the theater of great industrial 
enterprise, but the home of a civilization as refined and 
advanced as can be found in our country. The record of 
the State in the war is in all respects most creditable. The 
number of trooj)s whicli she furnished was large, and these 
of a high character, both officers and men, as the part 
they performed on every important battle field will testify. 
Among such a people it was inevitable tliat a deep interest 
should be felt in the extraneous and benevolent efforts 
made for the amelioration of the condition of our troops, 
and, as a consequence, we find that they were not only 
among the first to co-operate with the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, l)iit tliroiighout the war the contributions which they 



MILWAUKEE BEANCH. 231 

made to the work were, perhaps, even beyond their propor- 
tion, as regards population and wealth. Milwaukee, as 
the largest city of the State, was the focus of business and 
intelligence, and therefore naturally became the center of 
the philanthropic movement to which I have referred. 
There, on the 19th of October, 1861, was formed the Ladies' 
Association of Milwaukee, the first and most pow^erful of 
the series of Soldiers' Aid Societies which subsequently 
covered nearly the whole area of the State. By that for- 
tune or Providence which presided over the initiatory steps 
of this great movement at various points, the responsibility 
of the management of this enterprise was committed to 
ladies who proved themselves peculiarly qualified for the 
task, and who, with little change, retained their relations to 
the Society from ilrst to last. Every year of their adminis- 
tration served only to afford fresh proofs of their rare 
fitness for their positions, and give them new claims upon 
our respect and admiration. The officers elected in the 
first organization of the Society were as follows : 



President Mrs. C. A. KEELER. 

-,^. „ .^ ^ \ Mrs. ALEX. MITCHELL. 

Vice Presidents - 

' Mrs. W. B. HIBBARD. 

Recording Secretary Mrs. WILLIAM JACKSON. 

Corresponding Secretarjj . -Mas. JOSEPH S. COLT. 

Tremurer Mrs. JOHN NAZRO. 

Subsequently Mrs. Henry L. Ogden and Mrs. Dr. Densi- 
man, as Assistant Secretaries, were added to the corps of 
officers, and the Yice Presidents who have been named 
were succeeded by others. With these exceptions, the 
organization experienced little change to the close of the 
war. The spirit and method which (characterized the 
operations of this Society will be, perhaps, best learned 
from the following extracts from their first annual report: 

When the call to arms summoned husbands, fathers, sons and 
brothers from their peaceful homes to the battle field, in defense of 



232 SAKITAEY COMMISSION" — WESTERl^ DEPARTMENT. 

our beloYed conutry, the women of Milwaukee, in common with 
their sisters throughout the whole North, were not content to 
remain passive spectators of their noble patriotism. Their sympa- 
thies were at once enlisted, and they felt that they, too, had a work 
to do in the coming struggle. Little comprehending what might 
become the extent and importance of this work in which they 
desired to have a sliare, they began, with willing hearts and busy 
hands, to follow out their generous impulses by preparing garments 
for the volunteers, who, all unaccustomed to camp life, were poorly 
prepared with suitable clothing, and were awaiting the arrival of 
Government stores. 

In the course of the summer, information came to us from camp 
and hospital and from those whose kindred impulses had given 
a more permanent direction to their efforts: "Men taken from 
various in-door avocations were suddenly exposed to the vicissi- 
tudes of camp life, compelled often to make rapid and fatiguing 
marches, to bivouac in malarious regions, to drink water frequently 
impure and stagnant, and to eat badly-prepared food." Its dire 
effects soon manifested itself in the sickness which called for post 
and general hospitals, and it was determined to organize an associa- 
tion in Milwaukee for their aid. Accordingly, on the 19th of 
October, 1861, a large meeting of ladies assembled for the purpose 
in the school-room of Messrs. Kursteiner & Shepard. They adopted 
the name of "Ladies' Association of Milwaukee for the Aid of 
Military Hospitals," chose their officers, and appointed a committee 
to solicit contributions. Their application met with a ready 
response, the use of eligible rooms was generously proffered, and 
the ladies vigorously set to work in the preparation of such articles 
as might be useful to the sick in hospitals. 

A correspondence was opened with surgeons of regiments and 
members of Sanitary Commissions, for the gathering up of such 
information as might enable us intelligently to pursue our work. 
Our first donations abroad were sent in large and well-filled boxes 
to St. Louis, whose numerous well-appointed hospitals challenge 
the admiration of the whole nation. Our own sick and wounded 
are indebted to them for nursing care, comforts, and even life 
itself 

Some of our cai'licr boxes were sent to regiments on the Poto- 
mac, from tlie very natural desire of tliose who had friends in that 



MILWAUKEE BEANCH. 233 

distant field that their donations should be applied directly to their 
comfort. Subsequent inyestigations, however, confirmed by the 
advice of those who have had opportunities of forming intelligent 
judgment on this subject, have determined us against this practice. 
"More losses,^' we are assured, "have occurred to the few boxes 
sent to specified regiments than to all others combined." Their 
often remote positions, the difficulty and expense of transportation, 
the uncertainty of communication by letter, and their frequent 
changes, all conspire to deter us from thus risking the precious 
fruits of the labor of love committed to us. These considerations, 
with the sense of responsibility resting upon them, induced the 
officers of the Society to avail tnemselves of the Chicago and 
St. Louis Sanitary Commissions, as the safest channels for the 
distribution of their stores, and the most effectual mode of guard- 
ing against their waste and misapplici3tion. These vigorous and 
efficient arms of the volunteer service employ trusty agents for 
visiting hospitals and seeing that the gifts committed to them are 
wisely and economically applied. 

To those disabled returning soldiers who occasionally pass 
through this city to their homes, this Society desires to prove the 
good Samaritan. As the number is not sufficient to call for the 
establishment of a "' Soldiers' Home," that beautiful feature in the 
charities of many cities of our land, we have adopted the best 
means we could devise for meeting them with kindness and refresh- 
ment on their homeward journey. Tickets have been placed in the 
hands of trusty employes on the Milwaukee and Chicago Eailroad 
and the steamboats, to give to those who may need them, entitling 
them to meals and lodging at the Lake House, which is near the 
depot, and where, we are persuaded, every attention is extended to 
them. * * * * * % * 

We are compelled to appear before the public with an empty 
treasury. Let this fact, united with the pleading voice which 
comes to us from hospital, steamer and battle field, rouse the ener- 
gies which, from any cause, may have become dormant, and stimu- 
late us all to enter upon another year with renewed exertions. Let 
us blush to say that, because our brave soldiers may somewhere, 
and at some time, have been defrauded of what was intended for 
their succor, we will make no further effort on their behalf; or, 
because onr oivn regiments cannot be reached by our offerings, 



•■334 SAXITAKY COMMISSIOI^ — WESTERN DEPARTMJ^isTT. 

others of our brave defenders, belonging to the one great Union 
army, shall not be benefited by them. Enough for us that, from 
any portion of it, "the blessing of him that was ready to perish" 
descend upon us. 

We rejoice that woman can do something for our imperiled 
country, and that the work needed is one in which all may engage, 
whatever their position, whatever their opinions. Labor and sym- 
pathy have been freely poured out, and yet there is another work, 
appropriate for us in our quieter life, to which we hope we may be 
permitted to allude. It is for us, because we are so weak and know 
our weakness, to cry to our Heavenly Father for pardon and deliver- 
ance from the fearful judgments which sin has brought upon our 
country; for us to invoke the "wisdom from above," never more 
needed than now, for those who, in these dark days, have the 
perilous responsibility of guiding the ship of state; for us to 
entreat that an Almighty shield may be around those who have 
gone forth to battle; and while we pray that the end of all this 
strife and bloodshed may be nigh, it is for us likewise to remember 
that we liave enlisted for the icar, and press onward surely and 
steadily with our labors and our prayers, until the angel of peace 
shall again spread her wings over our beloved country. 

During the course of the war, visits to the front were 
made by more than one of the officers of this Society, and 
Mrs. Colt spent some time in both the great armies of the 
West, not simply to learn from observation the wants of 
the soldiers and the best means of supplying them, but to 
take part with her own hands in relieving the suffering of 
the sick and wounded. Nearly all the hospitals of tlie 
South-west felt the benign inflnence of lier presence and 
efforts ; and wherever she went, witli her intense patriotism, 
rare j)owers of ideasing and deep sympatliy witli siiffei'ing, 
she carried light, cheerfulness and conrfort. It was my 
good fortune to enjoy much of the society of both Mrs. 
Colt and Mrs. Jackson during tlie war, and I can hardly 
express, witliout seeming exaggeration, the respect and 
esteem with wliicli both these noble wonicu iuspinnl me. 



MILWAUKEE BRANCH. 235 

There was one lady of Wisconsin who, though not an 
officer of this Society, was an active and efficient co-laborer 
in its work. I refer to Mrs. Harvey, the wife of the 
Governor of the State. It will be remembered that Gover- 
nor Harvey w^as drowned at Pittsburg Landing, where he 
had gone, led by his interest in the fate of the A¥isconsin 
troops. I was on the spot at the time, and deeply sympa- 
thized with his relatives and the people of his State in their 
bereavement. Governor Harvey had been a schoolmate of 
mine, and I could fully appreciate the loss which they 
sustained. From that time Mrs. Harvey devoted herself 
with unceasing industry to the cause of the sick and 
wounded in our army, and spent the larger part of the 
years of the war at one or the other of the military hospi- 
tals of the South-west. At the cessation of hostilities her 
unquenchable interest in the work which had so long occu- 
pied her time and thought, led her to charge herself with 
the establishment of an asylum for soldiers' orphans. 

Contributions were made by the Wisconsin Ladies' Aid 
Society of about six thousand boxes, of the value of two 
hundred thousand dollars. This is the only item in the 
w^ork of the Society which properly receives notice in this 
sketch of the Supply Department, but, as proved by the 
following quotation from the final report of the Society, its 
work ran into the various channels which the wants of the 
soldiers everywhere opened to us, so that this Society, in 
addition to its contributions of stores, had its Pension and 
Employment Agencies, and care of soldiers' families; all 
of which received a share of its efforts, and go to swell the 
aggregate of the good w^ork it accomplished. 

Again we come before the public with the report of our labors, 
hoping that, after nearly four years of experience, we have gained 
the confidence of the people, as the proper and safe medium of 
supplies. 



236 SAN^ITARY COMMISSION^ — WESTERI^ DEPARTMENT. 

Our rooms are the place of resort of the widow for news of her 
dead; of the anxious-hearted mother for news of her wounded; of 
the broken-down and worn-out soldier for help ; of the wives and 
mothers of soldiers for work ; of constant appeals from battle field 
and camp, from hospital and loathsome prison, for relief. All these 
different inquiries, by our connection with the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, we are able to answer. By our connection with and recog- 
nition by the Government, we can give work. By the generosity 
of our auxiliaries and the help of our princely citizens, we can 
promptly help the prisoner, the dying and the wounded. We have 
sent to the front, in money and supplies, more than twenty-five 
thousand dollars in five months, and more than eleven thousand 
dollars worth of pickles alone ; in the whole year about fifty thou- 
sand seven hundred dollars, and of that nineteen thousand four 
hundred and ten dollars was in pickles. 

We are a Society for the relief of our sick and wounded soldiers, 
but w^e have added to our old work many other bureaus that seemed 
imperatively our duty. What can better nerve the arm of a soldier 
than care for his family ? More than two hundred women are on 
our list, whom we visit, encourage, teach and help. All this work 
must go on, or great distress will ensue. We trust to our ever 
generous public to sustain us. We could not have worked thus 
laboriously, successfully and harmoniously in your midst without 
your confidence and co-operation. It is for that we yet ask. And 
trusting that He who rules the hearts of men aud the destinies of 
nations may soon bring our labors to a close, we work on, and shall 
continue to do so as long as there are wounded to help, prisoners to 
relieve, suffering to alleviate, or sorrows to lighten. 



REPOET OF THE INDUSTRIAL AID DEPARTMENT. 

Brought much into contact with soldiers' families, the ladies of 
the Soldiers' Aid Society could not resist the conviction that proper 
consideration for their own sex called upon them to devise some 
means whereby they might benefit those who have given their 
husbands and sons to fight the battles of our country. They felt, 
too, that by doing tliis they would most effectually encourage and 
comfort the hearts of the soldiers themselves. 



MILWAUKEE BRANCH. 23? 

Believing that the wisest charity would be to furnish work, 
preserving those whom they would aid, as much as possible, from 
the humiliation of receiving alms, and feeling that we were not 
authorized to trench upon funds placed in our hands for men in 
hospital and on battle field, it was determined that our Correspond- 
ing Secretary should proceed to Washington and solicit from the 
heads of Departments a share of army work. Successful in her 
appeal, the work was commenced six weeks ago, immediately on 
the arrival of the material. We have on our books two hundred 
and thirty women, and the number is constantly increasing; ^nd 
though, with our grant of twelve thousand garments, we cannot 
give them all the work they wish, yet we hope, by its judicious 
distribution, materially to aid them through the severity of the 
approaching season. 

The object of this Department is to aid those who are most 
needy and deserving, those who cannot do or obtain much other 
work, and those who have the least assistance from other sources. 
With all the noble liberality of the General and State Govern- 
ments, as well as that of the county, there are still many cases of 
hardship which appeal strongly to every feeling heart. Such as the 
sick and infirm ; those who, with large families, have been written 
widows by this cruel war, and have not yet obtained pensions; 
those whose husbands are in the regular army or navy, or from 
other causes do not receive State or county pay ; and those who, we 
are grieved to say it, get nothing from their husbands. 

The more effectually to carry out their object, the managers 
have formed themselves into committees for visiting every appli- 
cant, ascertaining as far as possible their situation and circum- 
stances, manifesting a friendly interest in them, and endeavoring, 
by all the means in their power, to promote their comfort and well 
being. 

Were the aim simply to get the work well done, it might easily 
be accomplished without a tenth of the labor now expended upon 
it. There are many younger soldiers' wives, with sewing machines, 
and few, if any, incumbrances, who understand the work and 
would gladly undertake it; but the ladies prefer to give their time 
and trouble that they may furnish facilities, and improve in neat- 
ness and ability to support their families those who, having young- 
children depending upon them, really need the assistance. What 



2'dS SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

that labor is can scarcely be imagined by those who have not 
visited our rooms. From half past nine o'clock in the morning till 
dark, every day, the cutting and folding are going on. We employ 
a very efficient soldier's wife as cutter, while one set of ladies is 
occupied in assisting her or in folding and properly preparing the 
work all the morning, and another set in the afternoon, thus 
calling into requisition the services of about sixty ladies a week. 
The managers gratefully acknowledge the kindness of many ladies 
who have rendered them valuable aid in this work. The managers 
of the Soldiers' Aid Society likewise give all their services to this 
Department which are not required for their other operations. 

We have every confidence that a community which has never 
manifested a disposition to forget the poor, or the soldier, will so 
approve our work as to enable us to carry it on till the rigor of the 
approaching season shall have passed away. 



OHAPTEK lY. 



IOWA S A Ts" I T A K Y COMMISSION 



lo^^AT.^ E :r .A^ liT o h: 

OF THE 

UlS^ITED STATES SA^Js^ITAEY COMMISSION. 

Contributions made hy tlie people of Iowa to tlie sick 
and wounded of tlie army for a long time readied tlie 
frontier in two channels ; tlie one represented by tlie Rev. 
A. J. K3'nett and other Associate Members of our organiza- 
tion wlio were working in unison with us, the other b}^ Mrs. 
Wittenmeyer, for a time the agent of the State, holding an 
independent position, but in alliance with the "Western 
Sanitary Commission of St. Louis. During the last two 
years of the war, however, most of the contributions of 
Iowa were made tlirough the Sanitary Commission, and 
were forwarded, like those of Wisconsin, to the Chicago 
Branch. In November, 1863, a Sanitary Convention was 
held at the State capitol, of which Hon. James Harlan, 
State Senator, was made President. At this meeting a new 
"Iowa Sanitary Commission" was organized, and a con- 
stitution was adopted, in which it was resolved to co-operate 
as far as possible with the United States Sanitary Commis- 
sion. On the adoption of this constitution the Rev. Mr. 
Kyiiett relinquished the organization of the Iowa Sanitary 
Commission, which he represented, and Mrs. Wittenmeyer, 
who stood at the head of the State organization, resigned to 
the new Commission the position which she held. On the 



240 SANITAEY COMMISSION — WESTEKi^ DEPAETMEKT. 

20tli of Jainiaiy. 1864, the new Sanitaiy Board met at Des 
Moines— composed of tlie following officers and members : 

President ...Hon. JOHN F. DILLON, (Judge Supreme Court,) Davenport, 

tMes. Gen. CURTIS, Keokuk First District. 

I Mrs. D. T. NEWCOMB, Davenport.. ..Second District. 

Vice Presidents J ^^^^- ^- ^- CONGER, Dubuque Third District. 

I Mrs. Col. WM. M. STONE, Knoxville Fourth District. 

• Mrs. W. W. MAYNARD, Council Bluflfs Fifth District. 

I Mrs. J. B. TAYLOR, Marshalltown Sixth District. 

Secretary Rev. C. G. TRUSDELL, Davenport. 

Treasurer Hon. EZEKIEL CLARK, Iowa City. 

Corresponding Sccrctar}f.,'R:EV. E. SKINNER, De Witt. 

^G. W. EDWARDS, Mt. Pleasant.. First District. 

I Mrs. Dr. ELY, Cedar Rapids Second District. 

Board of Control ' ^^^- ^- ^- BISSELL, Dubuque Third District. 

I N. H. BRAIN ARD, Iowa City. Fourth District. 

I Hon. JAMES WRIGHT, Des Moines Fifth District. 

.Mrs. W. H. plumb, Fort Dodge Sixth District. 

Tlie State was then divided into Districts, and agents 
appointed for each District, viz. : Rev. E. S. IN'orris, Mrs. J. 
Hager and Miss Simmons. Of these tlie Rev. Mr. JSTorris 
and Mrs. Hager were paid from the funds of the United 
States Sanitaiy Commission. On the 1st of June, 1864, a 
second meeting of the Iowa Sanitaiy Commission took 
place, in which the following preamble and resolutions were 
unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, The Western Sanitary Commission is limited in its 
field of labor, and does not reach all the Iowa soldiers, although 
effective within its reach, and has under its more immediate charge 
the relief of the freedmen in the Valley of the Mississippi ; and 

Whereas, The United States Christian Commission, in its 
organization, is designed to attend particularly to the spiritual 
wants of the soldiers, and is accomplishing a glorious work in this 
respect ; and 

Whereas, The United States Sanitary Commission has, within 
the field of its usefulness, all the soldiers in the Union Army, and has 
its agents in every department wherever suffering soldiers are found, 
ready to afford relief, and distribute sui)plies to them; therefore, 

Kesolved, That this Commission, endorsing all and detracting 
from no organization that contemplates the comfort of our soldiers, 



IOWA BKANCH. 241 

recommends the citizens of Iowa and all organizations for affording 
Sanitary relief to send their contributions to the United States 
Sanitary Commission for distribution, on account of their superior 
facilities for attending to every department of this work, in every 
part of the country where our troops are to be found. 

In the spring of 1864, the people of the northern part 
of the State, encouraged by the success that had attended 
the great Fairs in the Eastern States, decided to hold the 
' ' JSTorthern Iowa Sanitary Fair, ' ' which was opened in the 
city of Dnbnqne on the 1st of Jnne, 1864. The receipts of 
the Fair, in money and stores, amounted in value to nearly 
ninety thousand dollars. Over fifty thousand dollars in 
cash, and one thousand nine hundred and sixty packages 
of hospital supplies were sent by the Fair to the North- 
western Branch of the Sanitary Commission at Chicago. 
On the 26th of September, 1864, another successful Sanitary 
Fair was held at Burlington. The total contributions and 
receipts amounted to twenty-five thousand dollars. The 
net proceeds of the Fair were devoted partly to the Christian 
Commission and partly to the JN'orth-western Sanitary Com- 
mission, and the balance was expended under the auspices 
of the Sanitary Commission at Burlington. 



16 



CHAPTEK V. 



DETROIT SOLDIERS AID SOCIETY 



nynicma-^isr B:E?;^iNrci3: 



U KITED STATES SAI^TITARY COMMISSIOIn". 

The first movement in Michigan towards the contribu- 
tion of supplies to our soldiers originated in some earnest 
appeals, published in the Detroit papers, written by Mrs. 
Stewart and Mrs. Geo. DufReld, of that city. In answer to 
those appeals a number of boxes of stores were sent to Mrs. 
Duffield, and by her forwarded to such Michigan troops as 
seemed to need them most. At a later period, Avhen it was 
evident that a great work was to be done in that direction, 
Mrs. Dutfield felt herself physically unable to take the bur- 
den of its superintendence, and delegated it to others. A 
Detroit lady, describing the first efi'orts made there in behalf 
of the soldiers, says of the measures resorted to : " The 
first in point of importance were those of Mrs. Stewart and 
Mrs. Duffield. Their personal friendship with Miss Dix 
and Mrs. R. N. Blatchford, of New York, and their cor- 
respondence with Mrs. George Schuyler and others, of the 
Woman's Central Association, gave them the means of 
knowing what was best to do, and this they communicated 
to their wide circle of acquaintances in the State. I believe 
the correspondence to v/hicli I refer did not result from old 



MICHIGAN BKANCH. 243 

acquaintance, but led to its renewal, and also to tlie dis- 
covery tliat this Sanitary Commission work liad brought 
together the children of old associates in charitable enter- 
prises. Mrs. Duffield is the daughter of Mrs. Bethune, and 
grand-daughter of Mrs. Isabella Graham ; Mrs. Bethune 
and Mrs. Hamilton, the mother of Mrs. Schuyler and Mrs. 
Blatchford, were associated in establishing the first Orphan 
Asylum in ^N'ew York.'* 

At Detroit, as in most of the Western cities, certain of 
the inhabitants, conspicuous for their influence and philan- 
thropy, were, as early as June, 1861, appointed Associate 
Members of the Sanitary Commission, and to their influence 
we are in most instances indebted for the first organization 
of our Branch Societies. In the lake cities, however — 
Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit — our work was mainly done 
by ladies who interested themselves in it. In Detroit the 
first organization was distinctly a woman' s society, and it 
was so continued to the close of the war, though Dr. Zina 
Pitcher, an Associate Member of the Sanitary Commission, 
acted as counselor to the society of ladies, and was able, 
from his experience in the army, to afford them valuable 
information. 

On the organization of this Society its officers were as 
follows : 

President. Mrs. JOHN PALMER. 

Vice President Mrs. M. ADAMS. 

Treasurer ...Mrs. W. N. CARPENTER. 

Auditor.... Mrs. D. P. BUSHMAN. 

Recording Secretary Miss SARAH BIGGBEE. 

Correspoyiding Secretary.. Miss VALERIA CAIVIPBELL. 

In the corps of ofiicers several changes were made during 
the Hve years of the Society' s existence ; but, through all 
these changes, the Corresponding Secretary, Miss Campbell, 
remained not only as an element of identity and vitality, 
but as the most responsible and unwearied of all embraced 



Vice Presidevts 



M4: SANITARY COMMISSION^ — WESTERif DEPARTMENT. 

in its organization. At a later date the roll of officers of 
tlie Society included the following names : 

President ....Hon. JOHN OWEN.* 

B. VERNOR.* 

Hon. J. V. CAMPBELL.* 

P. E. DEMILL.* 

Miss S. A. SIBLEY. 

Mrs. H. L. CHIPMAN. 

Mrs. N. ADAMS. 

lYeasurer WM. A. BUTLER. 

Assistant Treasurer Mrs. GEORGE ANDREWS. 

Aiiditor .- Mrs. WM. A. BUTLER. 

Recording Secretary Miss LIZZIE WOODHAMS. 

Corresioonding Secret anj,. Miss VALERIA CAMPBELL. 

In this list it will be seen that Mrs. Adams and Miss 
Campbell are the only representatives of the old board. 
And it may be said that, but for the persistence and indom- 
itable resolution of two or three of the founders of the 
Society, its existence would have early terminated and its 
usefulness been far less than it was. 

A large part of the contributions of Michigan to the 
Sanitary Commission were forwarded to the Chicago 
Branch, and appear in the reports of that powerful Society. 
For this reason the work done in Michigan is liable to be 
under-estimated. Yet from the time of the establishment 
of the Western Central Office at Louisville, I was constantly 
in the receipt of shipments of valuable stores made from 
Detroit through the Chicago, Cleveland or Cincinnati 
Branches. Remote from the seat of war as Detroit was, 
it was impossible to excite there the degree of enthusiasm 
in our work such as converted whole communities further 
south into contributors. But the record of Michigan in 
the war is as creditable as that of any other State, and her 
intelligent and patriotic population was behind that of no 
otlier in the performan(;e of any duty which seemed to 

* Associate Menibcrs United States Sanitary Commission. 



MICHIGAI^ BRAITCH. 245 

promise success to the Union arms. Aside from the 
remoteness from our Southern battle fields, to which I have 
referred, another cause contributed to render the work 
of our co-laborers at Detroit difficult and discouraging. I 
refer to the proximity of the Canadian frontier, from which 
emanated an influence that in a marked degree qualified the 
patriotism of those living on the immediate border within 
our territory. That, in the face of such influences, our 
Detroit Associates were able to accomplish so much renders 
them worthy of the highest honor and praise ; and those 
who witnessed, as I did, their constancy of purpose and 
earnest devotion to the work will not fail to remember with 
gratitude and admiration the part they played in our great 
drama. 

From manuscript notes furnished me b}^ an officer of the 
Michigan Aid Society, I quote some passages which will 
be of interest, as showing some of the peculiar features in 
this work and experience. Of their methods of accumu- 
lating supplies she gives the following account : 

Of circulars and newspaper appeals we pubHshed many, besides 
reports in the papers and several in pamphlet form. In these we 
made use of such letters and documents as contained matter of 
interest or information. Dr. Newberry's kindness supphed many of 
them. For others we were indebted to the Societies at Cleveland, 
Chicago and elsewhere, to our State agents, to officers and soldiers 
in the army, and to others. The " Eeporter " and " Bulletin " did 
much, both in calling out contributions and in giving information 
of what was most wanted. 

"We did not make many personal applications for subscriptions 
or donations. Those we did make were considered pretty successful. 
In March and April, 1862, we raised over six hundred dollars by 
small weekly subscriptions. We depended for the most part on 
such donations as were made without direct application. Church 
collections on thanksgiving or fast days made a considerable part 
of our receipts. 



246 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Of personal efforts otherwise than in raising money it would be 
diflficnlt to give account. Some of us fell into the error of giving 
up visiting, and, while laboring hard ourselves, lost the opportuni- 
ties of influencing others. It was hard, perhaps impossible, how- 
ever, to do otherwise. Besides, it was so disagreeable to be talked 
to as if we were "women with a mission" that I, for one, preferred 
to stay at home or in our rooms, where business was business, and 
ridicule and compliment were alike shut out. 

Concerts, lectures and other entertainments were not very 
numerous in Detroit nor very successful. The most money was 
raised by a party for the benefit of the Soldiers' Home, where an 
invitation was necessary to the purchase of a ticket. This secured 
a large and brilliant company, and left behind it many misunder- 
standings. No Fair for the whole State was originated by us. The 
first North-western Fair received a good deal from Michigan ; but, 
as we had no share of the profits, it was rather a disadvantage to us 
than otherwise, as those who contributed to it could not see the 
necessity of giving again immediately. On the other hand it brought 
together many representatives of Michigan Societies, who learned 
to know and esteem each other, and worked faithfully together to 
the end. 

The State Fair, at Kalamazoo, in 1864, was intended, I suppose, 
to benefit equally the Kalamazoo Soldiers' Aid Society and the 
Michigan Branches of the Christian and Sanitary Commissions. 
The Michigan Soldiers' Eelief Committee, however, was substituted 
for the latter. The three organizations gave up to us, on Mrs. 
Sheldon's application, about nine hundred dollars received from sales 
of articles left from the Fair, and we received from the Kalamazoo 
Society about five hundred dollars, besides the stores purchased by 
them. So that, while there was seemingly presented the anomaly 
of a Sanitary Fair from which the Sanitary Commission was 
excluded, the latter really received more than either the Eelief 
Committee or the Christian Commission. 

In the second North-western Fair, we succeeded in securing the 
proceeds of Michigan contributions, though not till after delays 
and difficulties which detracted much from its then value. The 
net proceeds of the Michigan Department of this Fair were nearly 
ten thousand dollars — other receipts for the year about five thou- 
sand dollars. 



MICHIGAN BKAKCH. 247 

In 1863 Prof. Andrews, of Marietta, employed by Dr. Newberry, 
canvassed a part of Michigan with great success to the Sanitary 
Commission. The Societies of Kalamazoo and Flint, especially, 
were among our most faithful and energetic supporters. In the fall 
and winter of 1863, Mr. Wilkinson, of Kalamazoo, was employed 
by us for two months, and again for a short time in 1864. His 
experience of the benefits of the Sanitary Commission, in the 
Peninsula and at Vicksburg, while a member of one of our regi- 
ments, was used to good effect, and a large amount of stores was 
the result of his solicitations. 

The want of a sufficient number of well-informed and influen- 
tial agents was a great drawback to our success. The results 
produced by Prof. Andrews and Lieut. Wilkinson show what might 
have been done if we could have found the right men, and had the 
means — and the wisdom — to employ them. For I do not forget 
that Dr. Newberry (in the winter of 1862-3, I think) offered to 
send an agent to canvass the State, and we declined. 

The collections made and work done in schools and by children 
ought not to pass without mention. Tableaux, fairs, concerts and 
other means w^ere employed by them, from the little table of refresh- 
ments, on the sidewalk or the church steps, to tempt the passer-by, 
to the concert of hundreds of children, such as Mr. Philbrick got 
up, when the labor of weeks was spent in preparation, and lights, 
decorations and dress heightened the effect of the pretty faces and 
sweet voices of the earnest little performers. The very babies 
worked for the "poor toler," and gave up, unasked, their fire- 
crackers and rockets for the wounded at Gettysburg. 

WHAT WE DID WITH THE MONET AND STORES GIVEN US. 

The money was spent in purchasing stores and materials for 
work; payment of transportation charges; office expenses — rent, 
fuel, stationery, pay of clerk, etc. ; expenses of agents ; expenses of 
fairs, concerts, etc.; printing; expenses of Soldiers' Home; extra 
expenses of United States Sanitary Commission Claim Agency. 

The stores were given to regiments leaving the State ; regiments 
with the army; hospitals at home ; soldiers at home; soldiers' fami- 
lies ; the Soldiers' Home ; depots of United States Sanitary Commis- 
sion ; State agents and Societies, and Western Sanitary Commission. 



248 SAJn^ITARY COiTMISSIOis^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

All expenses, except purchases, were made as small as possible. 
A larger expenditure for pay of agents and clerks, and for printing, 
would hare been wiser. It must be said, in vindication of our narrow 
economy, that if we did not spend much, we had not much to spend, 
nor had any of our active members much at their own disposal. 

Transportation would have cost us much more had not most of 
the transportation companies carried our goods free. The express 
companies occasionally took things free, and usually at reduced 
rates. The Michigan Central Railroad took them free at first, and 
afterwards at half price. The Michigan Southern, and Detroit 
and Milwaukee raih'oads, and the Cleveland boats made no charges. 
The alacrity with which our worse than unprofitable shipments 
were received ought to be gratefully remembered. 

For the expenses of the Soldiers' Home we received one thou- 
sand dollars from the United States Sanitary Commission, and over 
five hundred dollars from the Michigan Soldiers' Belief Committee. 
The Sanitary Commission also paid the Superintendent for some 
months. The military authorities furnished rations and wood, and 
detailed men for duty there. What further was needed, either for 
the care of the house or for medicines, food, transportation, etc., we 
supplied. Medical attendance was for the most part gratuitous. 
The assistant surgeon at the Barracks hospital attended part of the 
time. 

The Employment Agency opened in August, 1865, and closed 
in December of the same year, cost us nothing except advertising 
and the services of our very capable and energetic clerk. Miss 
Macklin, who either went herself or sent the men where work was 
likely to be got. There were over two hundred applicants, of whom 
about two-thirds are registered as having found employment, and 
about half the rest as having left the city. 

Provision for soldiers' families was the first measure of relief 
thought of on the breaking out of the war. Of the private contri- 
butions and loans for equipping tlie soldiers, before the State could 
raise money, all below a certain amount was set apart for their 
families. Some Michigan residents in California sent Mr. Owen 
five hundred and fifty-five dollars for widows and orphans. Madame 
Centemeri, assisted by the Philharmonic Society and others, gave 
two concerts for volunteers' families. The Legislature voted a cer- 
tain allowance for their support. Money remaining from holiday 



MICHIGAN BEAXCH. 249 

dinners for the soldiers was used for this purpose. When these 
resources have been insufficient we have furnished aid from our 
own funds. Eefugees, and women and children from other States, 
have also been aided, but these have been few. We have not spared 
much money for these purposes, but the ladies who have acted for 
us have done what they could to get employment for those who 
could work, so that the benefit has been greater than the mere gift 
of more money would have been. Of these ladies none have been 
more faithful and judicious than Mrs. A. E. Howard, our principal 
agent for the last two years. 

We paid such expenses of the Claim Agency of the United 
States Sanitary Commission as were not provided for in the agree- 
ment between Mr. Bascom and the Detroit agent, Mr. Jennison, 
and have since employed Mr. Jennison to attend to the business 
left unfinished on the closing of the office in January, 1866. 

The notes, from wliicli the preceding quotations have 
been made, close with the following tribute to the Sanitary 
Commission : 

It vexes me to hear the women's work cried up, as if to it the 
army owed everything. But for the Sanitary Commission it would 
all have gone, as too much of it did go, in relieving much individual 
suffering, no doubt, but in results no more to be compared with 
what was actually done, than the kindness, w^hich merely gives 
money and food to the beggar at the door, is to be compared with 
that which also patiently trains him into a skillful and prosperous 
workman. I cannot think of any mere human and voluntary 
institution to be named with the Sanitary Commission. Cramped 
and fettered in its powers at the outset, opposed alike by the 
unyielding etiquette of the Medical Department and the lawless 
benevolence of the populace : the object of slanders combining the 
venom of political and theological rancor ; undermined by insidious 
rivals, and having among its members, contributors and agents, 
varieties of character and opinion difficult to harmonize, the mag- 
nitude and success of its efforts are wonderful — only to be accounted 
for as the result of God^s goodness watching over its inception and 
its work. May the same goodness guide and bless all who had part 
in its work. 



CHAPTER VI. 



soldiers' aid society of northern OHIO. 



OXj:E3^EIj-A.IsriD BZRJLO^OKC 

OP THE 

UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. 

As I have elsewhere said, the Soldiers' Aid Society of 
Cleveland was first, in point of time, of all associations 
organized for the purpose of carrying popular and extra- 
neous aid to the soldiers of our armies. The spirit which 
prompted this early organization was but a fair exponent 
of the patriotism and intelligence of the community in 
which it was located, and was the natural and fitting intro- 
duction to the wonderful career upon which the Society 
then entered. On the IStli of April, 1861, the first call to 
arms was made by President Lincoln, and on the 20th the 
Soldiers' Aid Society was organized, and the responsibility 
of its work placed in the hands of those who directed its 
affairs till the close of the war. With an inspiration which 
I have called Providential, a selection was made of those 
who were to have the management of the Society such as 
no time for deliberation or subsequent experience could 
possibly have improved, and a plan of operations adopted 
which required little modification to the close of its history. 
With no insight into our then dark future, other than 
that possessed by all, yet, guided by their deep womanly 
sympathy and a faith that no reverses could extinguish, 



CLEVELAND BEAKCH. 251 

they went on with unflagging energy in the prosecution 
and expansion of their work, constantly developing new 
resources in their own capabilities and in the patriotism of 
their constituents, until they had accomplished results in 
many respects beyond a parallel in the history of benevo- 
lent effort, and formed a record of which any individual or 
community might be justly proud. Although tilling but a 
narrow field (about eighteen counties) in the great area of 
the loyal i^orth, this was so thoroughly and wisely culti- 
vated that material contributions were derived from it 
which in value amounted to more than a million dollars ; a 
fifth part of the whole of the contributions made to the 
Western army through the hands of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, and a sixth of all made in the West; a fund which 
formed not only one of the main sources from which we 
derived the means to supply the needs of our army, but at 
times our only dependence. This result, grand and sur- 
prising as it is, can be regarded as only a fraction of the 
good work accomplished by this Society, for in its local 
charities its wisdom and efficiency were no less conspicuous 
than m its contributions to the Supply Department. In 
other portions of this report will be found some notice of 
the Soldiers' Home, the Pension and Claim Agency, the 
Employment Agency, and other branches of the Society's 
work, in all of which its zeal and success were equally 
manifest. In the numerical summary, where the results 
accomplished by this Society, in the different departments 
of its work, are expressed, so far as figures can express 
them, will be found the means of comparison between what 
was done by it and others ; but to gain a just appreciation 
of the reach and magnitude of this work, the kind and 
sympathetic spirit that pervaded it, and the quiet, unosten- 
tatious manner in which it was perforaied, it is indispensa- 
ble that one should have been a constant and appreciative 



252 SA]S"ITAKY COMMISSIOIT — WESTEEN DEPARTMENT. 

witness of it. It was my good fortune to enjoy sucli oppor- 
tunity, and the interest of my report would doubtless be 
greatly enhanced, and the claims of this Society more fully 
met, if I were to give the details, as. they are known to me, 
of the inception, progress and results of its efforts. Such a 
course would, however, carry me beyond my prescribed 
limits, and be scarcely just to the thousand others of our 
so worthy co-laborers, whose important contributions to 
our cause I have epitomized rather than described. I must 
be compelled to leave all details in the history of the 
Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio to those who have 
charged themselves with the duty of recording them ; 
remarking only that, though none but those actively 
engaged in its work are capable of fitly describing it, it is 
quite certain that any history they may write will be so 
largely tinctured with the modesty that characterized the 
work itself as to be far short of a reproduction of the 
reality. 

It has been erroneously stated that the Soldiers' Aid 
Society of Xorthern Ohio was first organized simply for the 
relief of soldiers' families ; but, to my certain knowledge, 
though this was the item of business which claimed atten- 
tion on the first day of organization, the scope and plan of 
operations was then so comprehensive as to include all 
the objects of charity consequent upon the war. On the 
second day of its existence the Society proved the truth of 
this assertion by the effort, to which I have referred, of 
supplying new regiments with blankets, and fully accom- 
plishing tlie purpose by placing over seven hundred at 
their disposal. At this time no Sanitary Commission 
existed, and the Society worked independently, because it 
was alone. But when, earl}^ in the summer of 1861, as a 
member of the Sanitary Commission, I came West to solicit 
co-operation witli tliat body, T found this Society inspiivd 



CLEVELAND BKAKCH. 253 

witli the most cordial and cattiolic spirit, and both ready 
and desii'oiis to contribute, by all the means in its power, 
to the end we had in view. Western Yifginia was then the 
only field of active military operations within my Depart- 
ment, and from this Society I received not only the hospital 
stores placed in the hands of our agent sent to this field, 
but their contributions were my main dependence for this 
supply for months after. The second Agency which we 
established was at Cairo, 111., and there, as in Western 
Virginia, our first receipts of hospital stores were from the 
Cleveland Society. 

On the loth of October, at the request of the officers of 
the Society, it was formall}^ resolved by the Sanitary Com- 
mission, "that the Soldiers' Aid Societ}^ of Cleveland is 
hereby constituted a corresponding Branch of the Sanitary 
Commission, and that the Secretary notify the Society of 
the action of the Commission, with an expression of the 
sense entertaiQed by the Commission of the importance and 
value of its services." 

At the first meeting of the Society the following officers 
were elected : 

President Mrs. B. ROUSE. 

^. „ .^ ^ ( Mrs. JOHN SHELLEY. 

Vice Presidents \ , _ _ „ „ 

I Mrs. WM. MELHINCH. 

Secretary MART CLARK BRAYTON. 

Treasurer ELLEN F. TERRY, 

With the exception of the substitution of Mrs. J. A. 
Harris for Mrs. Shelley, (a change required by the removal 
of Mrs. Shelley fi'om the city,) these officers remained in 
charge of the afiairs of the Society to the close of its exist- 
ence. The President, Mrs. Rouse, a lady who combined in 
her character more than ordinary intelligence and force 
with true feminine purity and tenderness, was a born 
philanthropist, and had been a leading spirit in every 
benevolent enterprise of her city for more than a quarter 



254 SAKITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN^ DEPARTMEN"T. 

of a centmy. She was placed by acclamation at the head 
of the Society at its first inception, and during the years 
of its subsequent Existence not only was no question ever 
raised of the desirableness of appointing a successor, but 
every day of her administration developed new evidence of 
her remarkable fitness for the place. The choice of Yice 
Presidents proved to have been wisely made, these ladies 
devoting themselves vritli unwearied fidelity, during the 
long years of the war, to the routine of duty at the Aid 
Rooms, where the supervision of the various committees 
and the charge of the incoming stores involved a degree of 
mental and manual labor such as few women are capable of 
performing. The Secretar}^ and Treasurer seemed equally 
well chosen. Miss Brayton, well known as a ready and 
eloquent writer, developed a business capacity which con- 
tributed largely to the success of the Society in the manage- 
ment of its business afiairs, which assumed dimensions 
reached only in the transactions of the largest commercial 
houses, and won for her the sincere respect of all the busi- 
ness experts with whom she came in contact. Miss Terry 
was an equally marked instance of natural selection. Like 
Miss Brayton, she had enjoyed all the benefits of refined 
intellectual culture, and, by her mathematical education, 
was especially qualified to take charge of the financial 
department. This position, though it involved unlooked- 
for responsibilities, she sustained with great credit; and 
h3r books, in neatness and accuracy, will compare with 
those of any business house. 

With these officers were united a corps of assistants 
who included nearly all the most intelligent and estimable 
women of the city ; a number of whom devoted themselves 
to the work of the Society with scarcely less earnestness 
than the officers I have mentioned. Upon them devolved 
a large part of the work which it accomplished, and 



CLEVELAifD BKANCH. 255 

they deserve a liberal share of tlie honor it has earned. 
Throughout the whole history of the Society the remark- 
able harmony and concert of action which prevailed among 
its members w^as not only delightful to behold, but one of 
the most potent elements of its success. 

The first report of the Society was published by the 
Sanitary Commission in IS'ovember, 1861, as one of its 
series of documents, and from this and the second report, 
published in July, 1862, I extract the following, which will 
suffice to convey an idea of the spirit which animated the 
first eliorts of .the Society, as well as recall the circum- 
stances under which they were put forth, more accurately 
than can be done by any other means : 

'Not more eagerly did seventy-five thousand brave men spring 
to the defense of our beloved country and its insulted flag, when, 
on the loth of April, 1861, the caU "to arms" flashed along the 
electric wires of this broad land, than did the women of the North 
arise in their holy purpose to strengthen and sustain the patriot 
soldiers thus summoned from their peaceful homes to the untried 
duties of the battle field. 

Under this sacred impulse the women of our city gathered at 
Chapin Hall, on the 20th of April, and a Soldiers' Aid Society was 
organized, its officers chosen, and a small fund raised for the tempo- 
rary support of the families of those who had gone forth on the 
three months' service. 

There were flushed faces, aglow with exalted feeling; troubled 
brows, shaded by vague apprehension; grave countenances, pale 
with nameless forebodings; eyes that sparkled with excitement, 
and eyes with a startled outlook or dim with gathering tears. 

What this strange cloud, suddenly threatening the far-off bor- 
ders of the land, might portend, happily no prophetic tongue was 
loosed to tell; no vision of the future rose to appal the assembly 
that met that day with the earnest purpose to do with their might 
whatsoever a woman's hand should find to do. 

With earnest hearts and busy, though unskillful hands, we 
began the sad work of preparing lint and bandage, in the dread 
apprehension that all too soon this service might be required, yet 



256 SAXITARY COMMISSION — TTESTEEX DEPARTMEXT. 

deceiyed by the hope that rebel insolence would bow before the 
noble uprising of a loyal people, and that soon peace would again 
spread her snowy wings aboTe our banners. 

Soon after the establishment of a camp of instruction near the 
city we were called upon to prepare garments for the Tolunteers 
daily arriving from their country homes, ill provided with clothing 
suitable for camp life, and also to supply blankets for their comfort 
while awaiting the arrival of Government stores. 

Havelocks were next furnished to the troops from this vicinity, 
and then came a period when the Society languished; not from 
lack of interest in the work, but because utter ignorance of its 
nature prevented the anticipation of those needs which the cam- 
paign would develop. 

Shortly, however, from visitors to some of our large camps, we 
learned of the lack of hospital furnishings, and correspondence 
was immediately opened with the surgeons of different regiments, 
with the hope of receiving that information which would enable us 
to work intelligently for the sick in hospital. The first donations 
were sent to Camp Dennison, (Ohio,) and consisted of a supply of 
hospital garments sufhcient for two regiments of Ohio volunteers. 
These were furnished at the expense of two or three members of 
the Society, only; for the small sum at first subscribed had long 
been exhausted, and the need of an increase of funds had not yet 
been felt. 

Soon the replies to the numerous letters addressed to surgeons 
prompted us to make public the information thus obtained, and, on 
June 20th, Circular ]^o. 1 was issued to the towns in this vicinity; 
nor were we disappointed in the reception which it met with. 
Hundreds of women, who, like ourselves, had been anxiously wait- 
ing to find their place in this work, eagerly sought the opportunity 
to express their loyalty by a^^propriate action ; and now presented 
itself the idea of centralizing the efforts of the women of this part 
of the State, with a view to the extension and greater efficiency of 
the work. 

A natural ignorance of the direction in which to work, and the 
prevalent fear of assuming duties which legitimately belonged to 
the Government, and wiiich might enricli the Commissariat with- 
out benefiting tlie soldier, threatened to become a serious obstacle, 
by checking tliat enthusiastic co-operation so important to success. 



CLEVELA]!fD BRAXCH. 257 

It seemed necessary to explain tlie fact that, in a war so suddenly 
thrust upon a nation, there is, unavoidably, a hiatus between the 
ability of the Government and the demand of hospital and camp, 
which can only be filled by the efforts of benevolent associations. 

To meet and overcome this difficulty the President of the 
Society stepped from her life of quiet and unobtrusive charities, 
visited families and villages, and, by personal explanation and 
appeal, secured the hearty and enthusiastic support of all who 
listened to her clear and eloquent arguments. 

A sentiment of common justice demands that these extraordi- 
nary efforts should, through the medium of this report, receive a 
tribute of grateful acknowledgment. 

In the search for a suitable room for the reception of the dona- 
tions now rapidly flowing in, from our citizens and from friends in 
the adjoining towns, the large office and store, 95 Bank street, were 
placed at our disposal by the owner, one of our prominent citizens. 

Eegular meetings of the Society were now held on the first 
Tuesday of each month, and the small sum of twenty-five cents 
was exacted at each meeting as membership fee. Committees were 
appointed to attend the rooms, to receive and take charge of dona- 
tions, and to cut and give out the work which the ladies of the city 
readily volunteered to make up. 

But while thus arranging for the reception and care of dona- 
tions, and while zealously striving to do our share in the preparation 
of hospital comforts, we were greatly in doubt as to the proper 
disbursement of our accumulating stores. 

As the location of hospitals became more remote, transportation 
more hazardous and communication by letter with the army more 
uncertain, the officers of the Society deeply felt the burden and 
responsibility of dispensing, with prudence, impartiality and wisdom 
the precious fruits of so much patient and loving toil; and on 
October 9, 1861, the Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland was form- 
ally offered as a Branch to the United States Sanitary Commission. 

At that time, all eyes were turned, and all hopes centered upon 
the forces gathered about Washington; and, while the benevolent 
associations of Eastern cities were ministering to the necessities of 
the Army of the Potomac, the destitution of the military hospitals 
of the Great West, and especially of Western Virginia, pressed 
heavily upon' our sympathies, and the advice received from the 

17 



258 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Secretary of the United States Sanitary Commission, in reply to 
onr informal letters of inquiry, confirmed our determination to 
work exclusively for Western troops. 

With the exception of three cases of hospital clothing sent to 
Washington immediately after the battle of Bull Eun, our ship- 
ments have been entirely confined to the Western division of the 
army. 

Vigorous correspondence was kept up with the surgeons of all 
Western regiments that could be reached by letter from this point, 
and the most earnest efforts were made to learn the state of the 
hospitals of Western Virginia and Missouri, and, acting upon the 
scanty knowledge thus obtained, supplies were sent from time to 
time, as the small means of the Society would allow. The letters 
of grateful acknowledgment received from those w^hom we thus 
endeavored to relieve greatly stimulated the work, and the interest 
of neighboring societies steadily increased. 

CLASSIFICATION OF STORES. 

• The importance of promptness in answering the calls made 
upon the Society involves a necessity for the systematic arrange- 
ment and classification of stores; and the following is the plan 
adopted : The rooms of the Society are furnished with large receiv- 
ing cases, each bearing the name of the article it is intended to 
contain ; and upon receipt of boxes from our Auxiliaries, the con- 
tents are distributed, each article into its appointed place, thence to 
be repacked with others of its kind; the boxes made secure for 
transportation, numbered, the number and contents registered, and 
the boxes placed in the storehouse to await the order for shipment. 

COMMITTEES. 

The care of donations, many of which are of a nature to be 
injured by transportation ; the unpacking, assorting, classifying and 
repacking of goods, require the attention of a large number of 
ladies, aside from those having the charge of cutting, giving out, 
and receiving back the garments made by ladies of the city. In 
addition to these duties, there has recently been adopted the stamp- 
ing of each article of clothing and bedding with the name of the 
Society. Tliis lias been advised by the Sanitary Commission, as 



CLEVELAN'D BRAN"CH. 259 

proof that articles thus marked are not furnished by GoYernment, 
and can be neither sold, nor bartered, nor their price held back 
from the wages of the soldier; nor can they be appropriated, 
without danger of detection, by persons out of hospital. It is also 
recommended for the moral effect which the knowledge of such 
benevolence must have upon the sick soldier. 

CIECULARS AND Is^EWSPAPEES. 

It has been our endeavor to diffuse as widely as possible the 
information received concerning the preparation of hospital supplies, 
and to this effect five circulars have been issued. These have been 
gratefully received, and the instructions embodied in them closely 
followed. Circular JSTo. 3, addressed to the little girls, met with a 
most enthusiastic reception, and every school-house and each play- 
room became a busy workshop, where nimble fingers plied the 
needle, and bright eyes flashed out the beams of a newly-awakened 
patriotism. 

To maintain and increase the interest in our work, weekly 
acknowledgments of all donations are published in the city papers, 
and the written acknowledgments of surgeons, and all letters of 
special interest to the cause, are put into print and mailed to the 
organizations connected with this Society. This department is in 
the hands of a committee of young ladies, who have discharged its 
duties with the utmost fidelity ; and although the sending out of 
these documents involves considerable expenditure, the results are 
highly gratifying to the Central Association, and have greatly 
stimulated the efforts of Auxiliary Societies. 

CITY CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 

While providing for those who call from distant battle-fields 
and hospitals, we have not been unmindful of those in regiments 
temporarily encamped near the city, who have fallen under the 
diseases engendered by the sudden change from the comforts of 
home to the exposure of camp life. The surgeons of these regi- 
ments have been authorized to draw upon this Society for anything 
necessary to the comfort of the men under their charge, and from 
time to time their hospitals have been thoroughly furnished from 
its stores. • 



260 SAKITARY COMMISSIOK — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

The sick or wounded volunteer, on his return through this city, 
has found in the " Aid Society " that good Samaritan whose minis- 
trations have eased his pain, and whose sympathy has sent him 
with a lightened heart upon his homeward way. 

AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 

As a local organization, much has been done; the women of 
this city have been constant, faithful, earnest and devoted; and 
while their steady and untiring performance of their self-imposed 
duties, whether at the rooms of the Society or in their own homes, 
merits the most sincere praise, yet it is to the generous inflowing of 
benevolence from our Auxiliary Societies that is owing the power 
to minister in such large degree to the thousands in hospital who 
claim our care. In vain we search for appropriate expressions of 
our gratitude to those who, gathering around us as "Branches," 
have now become one with us in this great work. Their noble 
confidence, as shown by their entrusting to us the precious fruits 
of their diligence and skill, and their kind appreciation of our 
efforts on their behalf, have inspired us with increased devotion to 
their interests. Encouraged and sustained by their continued 
kindness, we pledge ourselves to the faithful and unrelaxing 
performance of our work ; and while thus expressing our sense of 
the assistance they have rendered, we beg them to remember that 
this Avork is but begun — that months and even years may develop 
only increased necessity for their efforts ; and that surely, steadily, 
they should go forward, having "enlisted for the war," and pledging 
themselves to "hold up the hands" of our patriot soldiers, so long 
as we have a flag to be protected, and a country to be saved. 

The second report of the Society closes with the following 
eloquent paragraphs : 

A year of deadly combat has rolled its waves of fire and blood 
over our land, and grim-visaged War, no longer masked in martial 
splendor, now stalks among us, an acknowledged though an unwel- 
come visitant, but we see no shrinking from his face of horror, nor 
(hjes his heavy tread disturb the firm basis of our national prosperity. 

The wheels of trade have not been clogged, nor the progress of 
Hciencc or the useful arts arrested. The iires of patriotism burn 



CLEVELAND BRAN'CH. 261 

not less brightly, but with steadier glow ; the disgraceful retreat of 
the undisciplined mob has become the firm advance of a trained 
soldiery ; and though the blood-drenched soil and rude mound of 
the fatal field are the sole memorials of many, who, strong of 
purpose and lofty in resolve, left their homes but one short year 
ago, to do or die in their country's cause, yet the spirit that sent 
them forth still animates the thousands who are crowding forward 
to fill the places decimated by disease or the bullets of the foe ; and 
the world abroad no longer looks with incredulity upon the problem 
of self-government which this young nation is solving. 

We, too, are disciplined and educated for our work — our feeble 
and uncertain steps have settled into the steady tread of assured 
progress — and though the first flush of enthusiasm may have faded, 
and the stimulus of novelty is lacking, yet the suffering that 
touched our hearts and awakened our sympathies months ago still 
exists, and still sends forth its voice of supplication from many a 
distant battle field and ill-appointed hospital. 

Let us then press steadily onward, and while praying that the 
end be not far off, accept the duties that may become our life-work, 
counting it blessed to live in an age, when, by the exercise of the 
sweet charities of life, we can prove the purity of those patriotic 
sentiments that, through long years of unexampled national pros- 
perity, have been the proud heritage of every American citizen. 

Thus may we earn a glorious share in the happiness of that day 
when the sun of peace, dispelling the darkness that now over- 
shadows us, shall throw the bright bow of hope and promise over 
our beloved and redeemed country. 

As indicating my appreciation of the work of the Society 
at this period, I venture to subjoin a letter which accom- 
panied their first report when submitted to the Sanitary- 
Commission : 

H. W. Bellows, D. D., Cleveland, December 1, 1861. 

President U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — I have the honor to present herewith, the Eeport of the 
Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland, Ohio, as you are aware, one of the most 
efficient auxiliaries of our Commission. 

Through my reports, you have learned, from time to time, something of 
the operations of this Society, but from an intimate acquaintance with the 
o^rowth and workings of its system, and the results it has accomplished, 1 



.262 SA^s^ITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERI^ DEPARTMEIs'T. 

have thought them worthy of more full and public exposition than has yet 
been giyen ; not only that the value of the services rendered by this Society 
might be more widely known and generally recognized, but that others, 
seeing how simply and how quietly so much good has been done, by those 
enjoying no unusual resources or opportunities, might be stimulated to like 
etforts. with like results. 

A few Avarm-hearted, patriotic women originated the Society, and, 
almost unaided, have since managed its rapidly extending business with a 
degree of skill and wisdom of which their success is but a just exponent. 
Seeking neither honor nor reward, they have given their time, their energies 
and their thoughts to the work, with a self-devotion, which, while it has 
taxed their strength and periled their health, has cheered, comforted, and 
saved from death many a suffering soldier in the distant camps of our 
Western and Southern frontiers: has enlisted the sympathj' and active 
co-operation of thousands of the loyal women of Northern Ohio ; and by its 
direct and reHex influence, has given a more fervent glow to the patriotism 
of the entire West. In this fallen world of ours, such instances of sell- 
consecration are not so common as to be undeserving of record when found. 
I would therefore request that this report, prepared at my suggestion, may 
be printed and circulated as one of the documents of our Commission. 

Very respectfully, 

J. S. Newberry. 

Id June. 1861, a number of tlie most inilnential and 
pliilantliropic citizens of CleTeland were appointed Asso- 
ciate Members of the Sanitary Commission, and in October 
of the same year they united to organize a Branch Commis- 
sion for the accomplishment of the same objects that 
engaged the attention of onr Branches elsewhere, and to 
lend to the already flourishing Soldiers' Aid Society what- 
ever aid might be necessary in the execution of its work. 
The gentlemen Avho joined in this movement are as follows: 

T. p. HANDY. STILLMAN WITT. A. STONE, Jr. 

JOSEPH PERKINS. BENJAMIN ROUSE. E. S. FLINT. 

WILLL\M BINGHAM. Dr. E. GUSHING. Dr. A. MAYNARD. 

M. C. YOUNGLOVE. 

The flrst duty which suggested itself to them was to pro- 
vide a military hospital for Xorthern Ohio, which should 
receive the sick of the regiments quartered at Cleveland, 
for whom no other asylum had been opened. By applica- 
tion to tlie Secretary of the Treasury, a part of the Marine 



CLEVELAND BKANCH. 263 

Hospital at Cleveland was placed at tlieir command. This 
was fitted up by the co-operation of the ladies of the Aid 
Society, and continued to meet the wants of the class it 
was intended to accommodate until the building of the 
Cleveland Soldiers' Home removed the necessity for its 
continuance. During the autumn of 1861, the gentlemen 
composing this organization were frequently called upon 
for the relief of the various kinds of w^ant and suffering 
incident to the gathering of troops at Cleveland, and to aid 
in the operations of the Soldiers' Aid Society. Cleveland 
was, however, so far removed from the seat of war that the 
demands for local charity were less urgent than at points 
further south, and the ladies of the Aid Society displayed 
such activity and ability in the performance of their work 
that there seemed little occasion for others to attempt to 
share it, so that all the benevolent effort, as far as the army 
was concerned, was gradually committed to their hands. 
The gentlemen whom I have mentioned continued, however, 
to manifest an interest in the object for w^hich they were 
associated, and they and many others, throughout the life 
of the Aid Society, w^ere able to contribute in an important 
degree to its success. In addition to the names I have 
enumerated, justice requires that I should especially men- 
tion Mr. L. M. Hubby, President of the Cleveland, Columbus 
and Cincinnati Railroad Company, and Mr. H. M. Chapin, 
who were especially active and efficient in the co-operation 
I have referred to. 

The devices resorted to by the Soldiers' Aid Society for 
raising the funds necessary to carry on their constantly 
expanding business, w^ere varied in character, and many of 
them w^ere exceedingly ingenious. Monthly subscriptions 
were opened, in which many of the citizens contributed 
liberally to the cause. Tableaux, lectures, concerts, etc., 
were resorted to, all with a good degree of success and with 



264 SANITARY COMMISSIOl^f — WESTERl^ DEPAETMEXT. 

the result to sustain the Society in its work through the 
first three years of the war. At tliat time, liowever, the 
demands upon it were so urgent that it seemed necessary to 
resort to some extraordinary means for tlieir supply. The 
services of the officers of the Society were gratuitously 
rendered ; contributions of materials flowed in, in generous 
measure, from both city and country : but of many required 
articles the stock held by the people had come to be nearly 
exhausted, and it was of the first importance that purchases 
should be made in quantities far beyond the supply by 
donation. In these circumstances, encouraged by the exam- 
ple of Chicago and Cincinnati, the Soldiers' Aid Society, 
with the universal co-operation of the citizens, held, in the 
spring of 1864v^ their famous Sanitary Fair, which formed 
one of the most important as well as delightful episodes in 
the history of the Society. In this Fair not only the 
patriotism and generosity of the inhabitants of Cleveland — 
both of which had come to be proverbial — were demon- 
strated, but the cultivated taste which has presided over 
the embellishment of this beautiful city was exhibited in a 
marked degree. Though not one of the largest — for Cleve- 
land had then a population of but forty-five thousand — this 
Fair was one of the most beautiful, and, in proportion to 
the population contributary to it, perhaps the most success- 
ful of all the series. I will not here attempt a description 
of the Fair, nor the many interesting features it included, 
but will onl}' say that, in all its departments, it was in the 
highest degree creditable to those who created it, and a 
source not only of present enjoyment, but of delightful 
remembrance to all who had the good fortune to attend it. 
The Floral Hall, whicli was the center of attraction, was 
the work of Mr. F. R. Elliot, the well-known landscape 
gardener, and is universally conceded to be the most beau- 
tiful creation of liis genius. The gross receipts of the Fair 



CLEVELAND BRANCH. 265 

were one hundred tlionsand dollars, of wliicli nearly eighty 
thousand were realized to the treasury of the Society. With 
these funds at command its usefulness was redoubled, and 
it became from that time a still more efficient contributor to 
our work. 

From the final report of the Cleveland Branch I take the 
following recapitulation of its work in various departments : 

The foregoing pages are a brief sketch of the work that loyalty- 
prompted one small district to do for the soldiers. They are sub- 
mitted in the hope that it may not be uninteresting to trace the 
history of a Society wliich was the first permanently organized, one 
of the first to enter the field, and the last to leave it; which began 
with a capital of two gold dollars, and closed with a cash statement 
of more than one hundred and seventy thousand dollars ; which 
grew from' a neighborhood sewing-circle to become the representa- 
tive of five hundred and twenty-five branch organizations, in 
dispensing hospital stores valued at nearly a million of dollars; 
which built and supported a Soldiers' Home and conducted a 
Special Relief system and an Employment Agency, from which 
sixty thousand Union soldiers and their families received aid and 
comfort, and a Claim Agency which gratuitously collected war 
claims aggregating three hundred thousand dollars, at a saving to 
the claimants of over seventeen thousand dollars. 

This is an aggregate which, considering the circumstances 
before referred to — viz. : that it was the work of an associa- 
tion essentially of ladies only, and those but few in number, 
and that it was the contribution of but a small district of 
our loyal territory — cannot fail to be regarded as surpris- 
ing, and as an exhibition of patriotism and humanity such 
as would form the brightest page in the history of any 
community. I should also say that the loyalty to the 
Sanitary Commission and the catholic and disinterested 
spirit of the Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland were always 
to me among the most delightful characteristics of that 
organization. 



266 SANITARY COMMISSIONS" — WESTERIT DEPARTMENT. 

The contributions of this Society were made with a regn- 
larit}^ and certainty npon which we were able to rely under 
all circumstances. Our appeals were always promptly 
responded to, and it is the universal testimony of our agents 
in the field that the contributions of no Society arrived in 
better order, nor in the choice of articles was there more 
judgment shown. In the chapter on ^'Special Eelief" will 
be found a sketch of the Soldiers' Home, built and main- 
tained by the Soldiers' Aid Society, and its Pension and 
Employment Agencies, all of which deserve equal com- 
mendation with the work which it did in the Supply 
Department. 

This review will be most appropriately closed by quoting 
the last paragraphs of the lately published history of the 
Cleveland Branch, showing, as they do, the spirit ^^^th 
which this Society retired from its admirable Avork : 

But all who had a part in the beneficent work in which it was 
woman's peculiar privilege to serve her country, must feel abun- 
dantly rewarded in having been able to do something for those 
who gave health, manly strength, Avorldly prospects, ties of home, 
and even life itself, in the more perilous service of the field. 

As already sweet flowers and tender plants creep over and half 
conceal the battle footprints but lately left on many a field and hill- 
side of our land, so sweet charities and tender memories arise to 
enwrap the gaunt figure and veil the grim visage of War, that must 
forever stand, a central object, upon the canvas that portrays the 
history of these memorable years. 



CHAPTEK YII. 



OOXiTJUSdlBTJS BK,^I5rCI3: 



UXITED STATES SAXITAET COMMISSION. 

The Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission 
sitnated at Columbus, Ohio, was organized in the month of 
October, 1861, when on my way to Kentnckv I stopped at 
Colnmbns and addressed the Legislature regarding the 
purpose and methods of the Sanitary Commission. At that 
time a number of the most influential and intelligent citizens 
of Columbus formed themselres into a society auxiliary to 
the United States Sanitary Commission. Some other names 
were subsequently added to the list of members, and it 
ultimately included the following gentlemen : 

Got. WM. DEXNISOX. WM. M. AWL, M. D. JOSEPH SULLn^ANT. 

Eev. Dr. FITZGERALD. J. B. THO]MPSOX, M. D. P. AMBOS. 

Eev. JOSEPH M. TRIMBLE, D. D. T. J. WORMLEY, M. D. J. H. RILEY. 
Hon. JOHN W. ANDREWS. S. M. S^^HTH, M. D. E. NEIL. 

E. C. SESSIONS. S. LOVEING, M. D. FRANCIS COLLINS. 

FRANCIS CARTER, M. D. 

President.. WM. M. AWL, M. D. 

Vice President. .J. B. THOMPSON, M.D. 

Treasurer. T. J. WOR]MLEY, M. D. 

Secretary F. C. SESSIONS. 

Hon. William Dennison was at this time Chief Magistrate 
of the State, and in this connection, as elsewhere, manifested 
himself an earnest, unselfish patriot and a true and efiicient 
friend to the soldier. Dr. S. M. Smith, a widel}' known 
physician, was subsequently Surgeon General of the State, 
and both in his individual and official character, contributed 



268 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERI?^ DEPARTMENT. 

largely to tlie results at whicli we aimed. Mr. Sessions, 
another member of tlie Columbus Brancli, was one of the 
earliest volunteers who took the field to minister to the 
wants of the sick and suffering in the army. He accom- 
panied us on the "Allen Collier" in our memorable trip to 
Fort Donelson, and went to Pittsburg Landing immediately 
after the battle, where he was connected with the great work 
accomplished, in the care of the sick and wounded, during 
the spring and early summer of 1862. He also went with 
Dr. Smith to Murfi^eesboro upon the occasion of the battle 
of Stone River; visited Yii^gmia during the second cam- 
paign in that State, as well as most other important points 
in our field of operations; always as an earnest, hard- 
working, good Samaritan. 

From its location as the seat of government, our Colum- 
bus Branch constantly felt the opposing influence of State 
pride and political ambition. During the administration of 
Governor Dennison. little of this was experienced; but, 
during those of his immediate successors, a strong effort 
was made to secure to the State Executive the patronage 
and popularity which it was felt might adhere to whoever 
became the almoner of the munificent bounty of our citizens. 
In a neighboring State a similar effort was to a large degree 
successful, and the benevolence and patriotism of our people 
were made to contribute to the aspirations of her more 
prominent politicians. 

Only a small part of the great contributions of Ohio 
v/ere diverted from the channels of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, which carried them to all the needy and suffering of 
the army of the United States, with no unworthy preferences 
for such troops as were recruited mthin certain limits. 
This is no place, nor is thei-e any necessity for discussing 
this question, which is only another form of that of union 
and secession ; States' rights aiid national supremacy. 



COLUMBUS BKAi^CH. 269 

Columbus was an important point of rendezvous for our 
troops in tlie earlier part of tlie war, and throughout its 
duration camps of instruction or rendezvous continued to 
exist there. Much labor was therefore thrown upon our 
Associates located there, in meeting the home demand, both 
for personal ministrations and hospital supplies. In these 
duties a large number of them took an active part \\T.th 
marked effect in the amelioration of the condition of those 
who came under their care. In the progress of events it 
also became desirable to establish at Columbus a resting 
place or asylum for the sick and destitute soldiers — whose 
wants were not otherwise provided for — detained at or 
passing through the city. To meet these wants a Soldiers' 
Home w^as established, mainly through the exertions of Mr. 
Sessions, and, more than once enlarged, it continued its 
good offices to the close of the war. 

To aid in the work of tlie Columbus Branch, an appro- 
priation of ^ye thousand dollars was early made from the 
funds of the Sanitary Commission, and to this sum several 
thousand dollars were subsequently added for the equip- 
ment and maintenance of the Soldiers' Home. 

At Columbus, as everywhere else, a large part of the 
work of the Sanitary Commission was accomplished 
through the agency of woman. In October, 1861, a Soldiers' 
Aid Society was organized there, which was in December 
formally recognized as an Auxiliary of the United States 
Sanitary Commission; bearing the same relation to that 
body as the Woman's Central Relief Association of New 
York. Of this Society Mrs. W. E. Ide was the iii'st Presi- 
dent, and Mrs. George W. Heyl, Corresponding Secretary, 
(subsequently President,) while its membership included 
most of the influential and patriotic ladies of the city. 



OHAPTEK Yin. 



OF THE 

UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSIOIsT. 

OiN-E of the most efficient of our Western Branclies was 
tliat established at Cincinnati. From tlie personal influence 
of the gentlemen who composed it, as well as their earnest 
devotion to their work, in its first organization this Branch 
secured the confidence and respect of the inhabitants of the 
wealthy city in which it was located, and by its well-directed 
efforts it early began a career of usefulness which continued 
till the close of the war, and was a source of untold bless- 
ings to our armies in the West. From the geographical 
position of Cincinnati, at that time on the frontier, the war 
was brought to the very doors of its citizens ; and a large 
part of the earlier duties of the Commission might be 
properly denominated field service, inasmuch as the defi- 
ciencies in the equipment of our troops, and their manifold 
wants, both of personal ministration and material aid, were 
there felt in all their severity. 

In the historical sketch which forms a part of this Report, 
I have briefly alluded to the circumstances attending the 
organization of the Cincinnati Branch. The work of this 
Society formed so important a part of the events of the war 
at the West, that nothing less than a voluminous history 
would serve for a proper exposition of it. It is to be hoped 
that, for tli(^. honor of tlu^ Commission and tln^ city, as well 



CIKCIKNATI BRAN^CH. 



271 



as for tlie trutli and fullness of history, sucli a record will 
be made. 

The origin of the Cincinnati Branch Commission may be 
traced to the correspondence between the Hon. George 
Hoadly and myself, in which the plan of organization of 
the Sanitary Commission was set forth, and the importance 
of an effort on the part of the citizens of Cincinnati for the 
accomplishment of the purpose w^e had in view. Through 
Judge Hoadly' s exertions a meeting was assembled, of those 
who had already taken part in the work of relieving the 
wants of our soldiers, and of others who, by their previous 
history or present spirit, seemed especially qualified to join 
in such an enterprise. This meeting was held at the office 
of Dr. W. H. Mussey, on the evening of November 27, 1861. 
I was present, by invitation, and more fully explained the 
plan of the Sanitary Commission than it had been possible 
to do by correspondence. The result was the organization 
of the Cincinnati Branch Commission, composed as follows : 



R. W. BURNET. CHAS. R. FOSDICK, THOMAS G. ODIORNE. 

LARZ ANDERSON. C. G. COMEGYS, M. D. BELLAMY STORER. 

GEO. HOADLY. DAVID JUDKINS, M. D. A. AUB. 

CHAS. P. WILSTACH. JOHN DAVIS, M. D. O. M. MITCHELL. 

MICAJAH BAILEY. EDWARD MEAD, M. D. MARK E. REEVES. 

ELI C. BALDWIN. GEORGE MENDENHALL, M. D. E. Y. BOBBINS. 

S. J. BROAD WELL. W. H. MTJSSEY, M. D. THOMAS C. SHIPLEY. 

JAMES M. JOHNSTON. SAMUEL L'HOMMEDIEU, M. D. B. P. BAKER. 

E. S. BROOKS. Rev. W. A. SNIVELY, J. B. STALLO. 

A. G. BURT. Rev. M. L. P. THOMPSON, ROBERT HOSEA. 

JOSHUA H. BATES. Rev. E. T. COLLINS. F. C. GRIGGS. 

CHARLES B. CIST. HENRY PEARCE. W. W. SCARBOROUGH. 
GEORGE K. SHOENBERGER. 
(Of Cincinnati.) 

R. W. STEELE. JAMES McDANIEL. J. D. PHILLIPS. 

(Of Dayton.) 

President R. W. BURNET. 

Vice President GEO. HOADLY. 

Recording Secretary B. P. BAKER. 

Correspondmy Secrefari/.. CHAS. R. FOSDICK. 
Treasurer .HENRY PEARCE. 



272 SANITARY COM:m:ISSIOX — AYESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

From the first report of this Branch I make the follow- 
ing extracts, which show the variety of its work and the 
energy with which it was carried forward : 

Our first meeting was held at the residence of Dr. W. H. 
Mnssej, Xovember 27, 1861, and steps were then taken to complete 
a working organization and system; to obtain a depot and ofiice ; 
to organize a Central Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society for this city and 
vicinity ; to issue a circular to the people of Southern Ohio and 
Indiana and jSTorthern Kentucky ; and to inspect and supply the 
wants of the camps and hospitals in and near Cincinnati. A 
small quantity of supplies which had been received by Dr. Mussey, 
in consequence of the reference to him in the Sanitary Commis- 
sion's Address to the Loyal Women of America, Avas put into our 
hands. 

Within a few days, a Central Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society* 
was established, composed of delegates from each of twenty-four 
Societies in this city and county. This Society dates from a public 
meeting of ladies, (members of sewing circles and others interested,) 
called by a committee from our number, on December 6th, and 
completed an eflicient organization on the 18th, and received its 
first supplies on the 24th of the same month. This Society has 
held weekly meetings, increasing in interest, usefulness and num- 
bers, until now it is composed of delegates from forty working 
Societies, and through these constituent members manufactures 
weekly, into hospital garments, raw material to the amount of from 
three to five hundred dollars. Its funds have been in part suj^plied 
by us, and in part are the proceeds of a most successful public 
reading, generously given by Mr. James E. Murdock, of a poem, 
"The Wild Wagoner of the Alleghenies," written by Mr. T. 
Buchanan Read, and for the first time laid before the public on 
this occasion. Other generous donors have also contributed in 
various ways to the treasury of this Society. It proves a patriotic 
and useful auxiliary, providing large quantities of supplies of all 
kinds, which are given to us to distribute as the necessities of the 
army require. 

♦Note.— Of which Mrs. George Carlisle was President, and Mrs. Judge Hoadly, 
Secretary. 



CIXCIXXATI BRAXCH. 273 

On the 13tli of December vre issued an edition of jfive thousand 
copies of a circular to the public, stating in detail the needs of the 
army, and the plans proposed whereby the liberal and patriotic, 
especially among the women of our country, might co-operate with 
the Government. On the 1st day of February we issued another 
edition of five thousand copies of the same circular, making such 
changes as experience had proved advisable. And again, on the 
13th of February, we made another appeal to the public by issuing 
an address, of which we published five thousand copies, and which 
was copied into, and thus largely circulated by, the newspapers of 
the city. 

On the 19th of December, through the generosity of the Board 
of Trustees and Visitors of Schools of this city and of the Volun- 
teer Aid Committee, (an organization under which large quantities 
of supplies were collected and distributed among the regiments 
from this city and yicinity in the autumn before our fii'st meeting,) 
we were provided with an office and a depot in the first story of the 
Mechanics' Institute, corner of Vine and Sixth streets, a central 
location for our meetings and those of the Ladies' Society, with 
ample and convenient accommodations for storing, packing and 
shipping. Our regular meetings are held there every Thursday 
evening, and those of the Ladies" Society every Tuesday forenoon. 
Our store-keeper, Mr. John B. Heich, is in constant attendance, 
and a committee for the week, of three of oui* number, spend a 
portion of each day in receiving, packing and forwarding supplies. 
Our business has now so largely increased that we are obliged to 
have the entire time, and therefore pay for the services of an 
assistant to Mr. Heich, as well as two porters. Our o^ii services 
have been, of course, wholly gratuitous, except in the case of the 
two Inspectors hereafter alluded to. who are paid a small compen- 
sation. 

Immediately after our organization we sent two of our members, 
(Dr. Mead and E. Y. Eobbins), clothing them for the time with the 
authority of Inspectors, to examine the several camps at Hamilton. 
Xenia, Lockland, and Camp Dennison, in Ohio, and near Xe^-port. 
in Kentucky, and the hospitals in this city, and to supply all wants. 
Their reports are on file and subject to examination. Since that 
time we have repeatedly had the pleasure of seeing the Inspectors. 
Drs. Read and Prentice, at our rooms, and of meeting their 

18 ■ 



2-74- SANITARY COMMJSSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

requisitions. Both our Secretaries and several other members 
have visited and distributed supplies to the hospitals in Louisville, 
Bacon Creek and Muntbrdsville. "We have also forwai-ded supplies, 
m considerable quantities., to Garfield's brigade on the Sandy, to 
several points in Western Virginia, and to the society called Uncle 
Sam's Daughters, for the use of sick soldiers at Palmvra, Missouri. 
One of our members, Dr. W. H. Mussey, now Medical Director of 
General W^ood's Division of the army under General Buell, left this 
city for service in the field a few days after oar first meeting, and 
has kept us constantly advised of the wants of the army within his 
sphere of observation, and we have met several requisitions from 
him. 

After the battle of Mill Spring, we desired to do something for 
the sufferers at Somerset, and telegraphed to the Medical Director 
of General Thomas' Division to know what was most wanted. His 
reply called for a class of supplies with which w^e are not furnished 
by the public, viz. : spoons, knives and forks, plates, spit pans, 
chamber pans, etc. We should have purchased a supply and 
forwarded them to him, but the condition of the roads prevented 
our procuring transportation. We were glad to hear afterward 
that, through the interposition of Dr. Murray, Medical Director on 
General Buell's staff. Dr. Eead, the indefatigable Inspector, was 
enabled to get through, in a Government train, to Somerset, with 
five cases of your supplies, and thereby aid in relieving much 
suffering. 

Before this, we had purchased and sent to Dr. Mussey, at 
Nelson's Furnace, in Kentucky, a considerable invoice of goods of 
the same general character. It should be added, also, that our 
committee found a similar want at Fort Donelson ; and purchased 
at Evansville and sent to the Fort a quantity of hardware and 
queensware, of which special mention must be made of candle- 
sticks, for there w^as not one on the floating hospital steamers 
" City of Memphis" and " Fannie McBurnie," at the Fort. * * 

Anticipating joossibilities, a committee had been appointed as 
early as January, who had examined every building in the city at 
all adapted to hospital purposes, which could be had. A five-story 
building, conveniently located on Fourth street, between Main and 
Sycamore, wiiich promised greater advantages in many respects 
than any other liouse that could be got, was rented and fitted up. 



CINCIJ^I^ATI BEANCH. 275 

It was supposed that this hospital, with the two other military 
hospitals preyiously established by the Goyernment, and such 
accommodations as could be had in the St. John's and Commercial 
Hospitals, (the former a private hospital under the control of the 
Sisters of Charity, and the latter a public institution owned by the 
city,) would be sufficient. At the date of this report, a large 
number of sick and wounded haye been receiyed at these hospitals, 
and we shall be called upon, in all probability, in a few days, to 
open another hospital. 

In the organization of the Fourth Street Hospital, and in the 
reception of the sick and wounded, haye been j)resented occasions, 
which large numbers of the people haye eagerly embraced, to 
render substantial aid to the braye soldiers who haye suffered 
disease or wounds in their country's cause. * * * 

Although the organization of our Board was deferred until 
Noyember, it must not be supposed that the citizens of Cincinnati 
haye looked idly upon the great struggle of the country for 
national existence and the integrity of its territory and institutions. 
Soon after the war began, Dr. W. H. Mussey procured from the 
Secretary of the Treasury the use of the United States Marine 
Hospital in this city, a building erected a few years since for the 
use of Western boatmen, and organized a board of ladies and 
gentlemen for its management. The hospital was unfurnished, 
haying neyer been occupied, and was in some respects out of order. 
The donations of our citizens enabled the Board of Managers to 
furnish the hospital and open it for the reception of sick and 
wounded soldiers in the month of May. In this hospital were 
rendered the gratuitous seryices, not only of Dr. Mussey and his 
associates in the Board of Managers, but of a large number of 
beneyolent men and women, as nurses and otherwise, until August, 
when the success of the enterprise induced the authorities to adopt 
the hospital as a regular Goyernment hospital, and it was taken 
charge of by the Medical Director of this Department. Upon 
surrendering its care, a sale was made by the Managers of the 
furniture, etc., to the Goyernment. The fund thus obtained has 
since been expended in part in paying the expenses of furloughed 
wounded and disabled soldiers, in proper cases, to their homes, and 
in part by Dr. Mussey, in providing for the wants of the sick in his 
Division of the Army of Kentucky. 



276 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — AVESTEEX DEPAKTMENT. 

During the summer and autumn, the complaints which reached 
our city from the camps in Western Virginia, led to an active effort 
to suppty the wants of the ten thousand volunteers who had gone 
from homes in Cincinnati and vicinity. The Volunteer Aid 
Committee, before referred to, was put in possession of a very large 
stock of supplies of all kinds, and of money ; and two of their 
members, Messrs. C. F. Wilstach and Eli C. Baldwin, visited the 
various camps on the Kanawha, at Cheat Mountain and Romney, 
where a large number of Ohio troops was then stationed. This 
Committee is still in active operation; it has a large but diminish- 
ing stock ; is working in perfect harmony wdth us ; has relieved 
much suffering, and no doubt saved many lives. Several of the 
active members of the Board of Managers of the Military Hospital 
and the Volunteer Aid Committee are members of our Commis- 
sion, and thus bring to our enterprise the experience gained in 
their earlier service. 

In addition to these organized efforts to relieve the sick and 
wounded, and to prevent suffering, there has been much individual 
labor, time and money spent in this vicinity, in the same cause. 
The troops at Camp Dennison, and the sick in the several hospitals 
in Cincinnati, have received large quantities of supplies from 
individual donors, and much pains-taking labor has been gratui- 
tously rendered, in which the Sisters of Charity, among others, 
have been active to avert and to relieve distress. When the ladies 
Avere called together for the purpose of organizing their Central 
Society and systematizing their labors, it was found that twenty 
sewing circles were meeting weekly in this city and vicinity, 
contributing great but disconnected efforts to the relief of the 
army. The importance of organization and system is shown hj the 
taot that, since the establishment of that Society, this number has 
doubled within the limits of this county alone. Surely if the loyal 
States do not achieve success in this war, it will not be the fault of 
the people. 

In February, 1862, the battle of Fort Donelson occiuTed, 
when the Cincinnati Branc^li Commission chartered and 
equipped the tirst hospital steamer that ever floated on our 
Western \\at(ns. The principal facts connected with this 



CIXCIXXATI BR.AXCH. 277 

interesting episode in tlie liistorv of tlie Cincinnati Branch 
are given, thongii witli great brevity and characteristic 
modesty, in tlie first report of tlie Society, from which I 
again qnote : 

On Sunday, the 16tb of February, news of the severe fighting 
at Fort Donelson reached Cincinnati. A number of liberal citizens 
at once set on foot a movement to raise money for the charter of a 
steamer to go with nurses and supj)lies to the rehef of the sick and 
wounded. During that day and the next, two thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-five dollars were subscribed and put into our 
hands for that purpose. It was found, liowever, that every steam- 
boat in port was chartered by the Covernmeiit. ^e at once made 
known our wishes by telegraph to General Buell, at Louisville,, and 
he promptly authorized the Quartermaster here to transfer to us, 
upon the same terms the Grovernment had held it, the charter of 
the "Allen Collier,'"^ a small boat, upon which, about midnight of 
February ITth, several members of our body, to wit. Dr. David 
Judkins, as chief of the corps of medical men and nurses, and 
Messrs. Eli C. Baldwin, Henry Pearce and C. F. "Wilstach, committee 
in charge of the ^^roperty, with a corps of ten volunteer surgeons 
and thirty-six nurses from among our best citizens, and a large 
stock of supplies and medicines, embarked for Fort Donelson. Mr. 
B. P. Baker was sent in advance to Louisville, where he procured 
the necessary permits to go up the Cumberland, from General Buell, 
and thus avoided all delay on that account. As Dr. Xewberry, the 
Western Secretary of the Sanitary Commission, joined this expe- 
dition at Louisville, and made the trip to the Fort, and as far as 
Evansville on the return, and has fully reported the trip, it is 
deemed unnecessary to enter into a detailed statement of its history. 
Suffice it to say that, with one marked exception, our committee 
met with nothing but ample facilities and the kindest treatment 
from the ofiicers they met, and it is believed that, notwithstanding 
many discouragements, and the bad conduct of one prominent 
medical officer, they were enabled to prosecute their errand of 
mercy successfully, and to relieve much distress. They found a sad 
and very disgraceful condition of afi"airs at the Fort, so far as 
relates to medical and other supplies. There was great want of the 



278 SAXITARY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERIs^ DEPARTMENT. 

ordinary mediciues, which might and should have been provided 
by the proper authorities. They were called upon for chloroform by 
the acting Medical Director, and for chloroform and morphia by 
regimental surgeons, who informed them that neither article was 
there. They were shown by the surgeon of the floating hospital 
" Fanny Bullitt," with three hundred wounded in his charge, his 
stock of cerate, amounting to less than two ounces. There was no 
meat with which to make soup ; no wood to cook it with when 
supplied by our committee; no bread, except hard bread; not a 
spoon or candlestick on the floating hospital. The want of candle- 
sticks nearly led to the loss of the " City of Memphis " by fire. 

The "Allen Collier," bearing, in addition to those already named, 
Mr. F. C. Sessions, of the Columbus, and Mr. James Blake, of the 
Indianapolis Branch Commission, with a further stock of supplies 
from the latter city, put on board at Louisville, and Dr. G. C. Black- 
man, of this city, and a few others, who embarked at Smithland, 
reached Donelson on Thursday, February 20th. The next day 
eighty-one of the sick and wounded were put on board, and she 
started on her return trip. A large portion of the stores and sup- 
plies were distributed at the Fort, and the surgeons and nurses 
devoted themselves while there with kind and unremitting care to 
those for whose benefit they went. The gratitude of the soldier 
was freely expressed, and it is hoped that this expedition not only 
relieved suffering, but, by giving confidence to the army that the 
people were alive to their wants, did something to strengthen the 
hands of the Government in this great crisis. 

At the battle of Pittsburg Landing, which occurred in 
April of tlie same year, tlie part taken in the care of the 
sick and wounded by the Cincinnati Branch was still more 
imxjortant. Many steamers were sent as hospital boats to 
the scene of action, b}^ this Branch, laden with great quan- 
tities of much needed stores, and manned by a full corps of 
surgeons and nurses. In addition to these efforts of the 
Society, it conti'ibuted largely in various ways to the equip- 
ment and success of all tli(^ hospital steamers which left 
that ])(f\\ ill the Slimmer of l<S()2. Ft also maintained one 



CINCIN^KATI BEANCH. 279 

of tlie most important Soldiers' Homes established at tlie 
West, wliere forty-five tlionsand and four hundred lodgings 
and six hundred and fifty- six thousand seven hundred and 
four meals were supplied to soldiers, with an expenditure 
of sixty-four thousand one hundred and thirty-one dollars 
and eighty- six cents. 

In the autumn of 1862, Cincinnati was threatened by the 
force under Kirby Smith, who approached near to the city 
on the Kentucky side of the Ohio. For the defense of 
Cincinnati many thousand volunteers congregated in the 
city from various parts of Ohio and Indiana. These troops 
were, for the most part, without regular organization; 
armed with rifles and shot guns, and clad in their home 
garb. To provide for the subsistence of these " Squirrel 
Hunters," as they were called, who in number amounted 
to several thousands, was no light task; and, inasmuch as 
no Government provision had been made for them, this task 
necessarily devolved upon the citizens of Cincinnati. In 
fact, for the most part, it fell upon the members of the 
Sanitar}^ Commission, already recognized as the special 
friend of the soldier, to be referred to under all circum- 
stances of want and distress. Fortunately the siege of 
Cincinnati was not of long duration, but while it lasted the 
members of the Sanitary Commission were constantly and 
fully occupied, day and night, until they were exhausted 
by their exertions. Although there nowhere appears a 
record of the good work they then performed, it was wit- 
nessed and experienced by thousands who will remember it 
with gratitude and admiration. 

With the increase of our armies and the expansion of 
our military operations in the South-west, the work of the 
Cincinnati Commission was proportionally enlarged. They 
sent generous shipments of stores to the relief of suflerers 
in the battle of Perryville, and to them I was indebted for 



280 SAXITART COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

tlie supply of hospital stores — more tlian a liundred boxes— 
with which I opened the depot at JS'ashville. In short, at all 
onr distributing depots, from Louisville to Chattanooga — 
at Knoxville, Yicksburg and Memphis — the supplies 
derived from Cincinnati were an important and even indis- 
pensable element in the success which attended our efforts. 
It should also be said that these stores were not only 
generous in quantity but carefully selected, and packed 
and shipped with the thoroughness and judgment which 
charactOTzed all the works of this Society. 

Though sustained by a liberality on the part of citizens 
of Cincinnati such as, with our preconceived notions, 
seemed an unheard-of munificence, and having received 
fi'om the general fund of the Sanitary Commission fifteen 
thousand dollars, still the work of the Branch Commission 
was so far-reaching, and the demand on it so urgent, that 
the large sums placed at its disposal were found to be 
entirely inadequate. So, in the autumn of 1863, the * ' Great 
Western Sanitary Fair'' was held in Cincinnati for the 
benefit of the Sanitary Commission. This Fair will long- 
be remembered by citizens and visitors, not only as a grand 
display of the patriotism and generosity of the city and 
county where it was held, but as presenting a most instruc- 
tive and interesting exhibition of good taste, harmony and 
skill in organization and management. In the execution of 
a plan so broad as that of this Sanitary Fair, many others 
besides members of the Commission took part, and so great 
a triumx)li as it proved could only be the result of the com- 
bined efforts of thousands of earnest and united co-workers. 
At tlie head of il\e personnel of the Fair was General Rose- 
crans, and in the management of its various departments 
numbers of the wealtliy and enterprising merchants of 
Cincinnati particij^ated, bringing with them that profes- 
sional skill which had not onlv been the source of tlieir 



CIJs'CINXATI BRAIS'CH. 281 

own wealth, but had given the business community of 
Cincinnati the high character it enjoys. It should also be 
said that in this great work the ladies took an important, 
perliaps the most important part ; and liere, as elsewhere 
in the series of Sanitary Fairs, of which this formed one, 
the taste and skill, as well as the patriotism and energy, 
which cliaracterized woman' s part in the war received new 
and conspicuous illustration. A detailed history of this 
Fair has been published, forming an octavo volume of five 
hundred and seventy-eight pages ; and, as this by no means 
exhausts the subject, it is evident that nothing like justice 
can be done to it in the space now at our command. It will, 
however, be more fully reported in the general history of 
the Supply Department, to be written by Dr. Warriner, 
and to these authorities I vnll refer all those who may be 
interested in a fuller description of one of the most delight- 
ful and interesting episodes of our war. 

The net receipts from the Cincinnati Sanitary Fak were 
two hundred and thirty -five thousand four hundred and six 
dollars and sixt^^-two cents ; a result at that time without 
parallel in the annals of benevolence, and such as excited 
surprise and admiration throughout the country. With 
this fund at its command the Cincinnati Sanitary Commis- 
sion was able to contribute far more largely than before to 
the wants of the army. 

Wisely and carefully used, as had been the smaller sums 
previously expended, this fund continued to exert a benign 
influence in the camps and hospitals of the West till the 
close of the war. A financial report of the Cincinnati 
Branch Commission is given herewith : 



282 



SANITA.^Y GOMMISSIOIs^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 



RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS 

OF THE 
CINCINNATI BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION, 

From Organization to February 1, 1866. 

RECEIPTS. 

Received from the State of Ohio $ 1,000 00 

" Cit5' of Cincinnati". - 2,000 00 

" Citizens of Indiana 21 00 

" Citizens of Tennessee 10 00- 

" Citizens of Kentucky . 589 00 

Citizens of New York 1,135 00 

" Citizens of California 15,000 00 

" Citizens of Cincinnati 38,362 78 

" other parts of Ohio - 15,284: 84 

" Great Western Sanitary Fair held in Cincinnati, Dec, 1863. .- 235,406 62 

" Interest and Premium on Securities 21,084 68 

" England ♦ 19 20 

" Closing Sales at Rooms 856 41 



TOTAT. $330,769 53 



DISBURSEMENTS. 

For Medicines for Hospital Boats $ 

" Three Sets of Hospital Car Trucks, for use on Nashville and Chat, R. R., 

" Salaries of Agents, Clerks, Porters, etc., repacking, shipping, etc 

" Freights on Receipts and Shipments 

" Transportation of Destitute Soldiers to their homes 

" Printing Bulletin, Reports, Circulars, etc 

" Drayage and Express Hire 

" Sundries for Postage, Stationery, Stencils, Stamps, Boxes, Barrels, Nails, 

Cooperage, Straps, and Miscellaneous Expenses at Rooms 

" Charter of Hospital Steamboats to different battle fields 

" Soldiers' Home, in addition to aid received from IT. S. Government 

" Purchase of Sanitary Stores, for general distribution in hospitals, etc... 
" Washing Bedding from hospital boats and Clothing soiled by fruit, etc., 
" Remittances to U. S. Sanitary Commission in May, 1862, and April, 1865.. 

" Ohio Soldiers' Home, near Columbus 

On hand February 1, 1866 — 

$13,000 in Five-Twenty U. S. Bonds— cost $13,000 00 

18,000 in Seven-Thirty U. S. Bonds— cost 18,001 88 

Cash in the Treasury (National Bank) 3,606 63 



1,413 37 


3,108 00 


9,260 87 


5,351 67 


3,146 61 


1,310 46 


3,070 73 


2,315 60 


11,272 31 


6,189 05 


221,906 79 


816 56 


12,000 00 


15,000 00 



ft 

34,608 51 



ToTAr. 



.$330,769 53 



CINCINNATI BRANCH. 



283 



Aggregate Receipts of Sanitary Stores by the Cincinnati Branch, 
From December 1, 1861, to March 28, 1865. 



Arm Slings 3,068, Coffee Mugs 403 



lings 

Alum, pulv lbs 

Arrow Root Tbs. 3 

Ale---. ----bis. 10 

do.. half bis. 14 

do. - kegs, 12 

do bottles, 3,593 

Apples, Green bu. 1,547 

Apple Butter bis. 34 

do half bis. 48 

do kegs, 115 

do.. boxes, 9 

do. -Cans and jars, 116 

Agric'l Implements... 35 

Artichokes bu. 1 

Blankets 5,976 

Bedticks 9,106 

Bedgowns 369 

Boots and Shoes. -prs. 1,385 

Bags 995 

Basters 61 

Bedsteads, Cots, etc. _ . 733 

Bedsteads, Iron 100 

Bedpans 344 



Cheese 

Corn, Parched S)S. 

Corn, Dried lbs. 

Cigars boxes. 

Candlesticks 

Cakes Ds. 

Corn Starch lbs. 

Collars 

Coffee Pots 



Bowls, Drinking 

Brushes 

Beets bu. 

Beans bu. 

Butter lbs. 

Bread loaves. 

Barley, Pearl lbs. 

Buckets 

Bowls, Wash.. 

Beef, Dried lbs. 

Blacking boxes. 

Brooms 

Blackberry Root ..lbs. 

do.. Tine. -galls. 

Blackberry Syrup .bis. 

do half bis. 

do .--kegs, 

Beef, Extract of-cans. 

Comforts 

Cushions 31,953 

Coats 3,914 

Crutches 1,350 

Combs _ 

Carrots bu 

Cabbage, Green .hhds 

do bis 

do. bu, 

do heads. 

Can dies lbs 

Crackers 

Codfish 

Cups and Saucers 

Canteens 

Cinnamon lbs. 

Cocoa .lbs. 

Chocolate Bbs. 

Coflans 

Chambers 

Cologne bottles, 

do. gallons, 

Chairs 

Coffee Bbs. 

Chickens, Dressed and 

Live 

Citric Acid bottles, 

Corn Meal lbs. 



3,019 

305 

91 

35 

10,333 

3,043 

3,690 

360 

516 

11,051 

15 

83 

137 

5 

( 

4 

13 

6 

13,893 



6 
11 

181 
533 

lbs. 118 

lbs. 137,488 

---- 5,460 

370 

38 

35 

40' 

313 



344 



341 
1,133 

3,659 

30 

10,553 



503 

783 

3 

73 

3,639 

7,177 

53 

87 

Condensed Milk 61,761 

Cranberries -. bis. 1 

Catsup- bis. 3 

do.--- half bis. 4 

do kegs, 3 

do.-- .iugs, 9 

do.- bottles, 1,181 

Cabbage in Curry, .bis. 176 

do half bis. 386 

Checker Boards 31 

Currant Wine kegs, 3 

do jugs, 1 

Compound Tincture of 

Gentian.. -gallons, 10 

Drawers pairs, 47,313 

Dressing Gowns 3,789 

Dried Fruit fi)s.350,743 

Dishes 90 

Dippers 49 

Desks 3 

Drinking Tubes 108 

Dandelion Root. ..lbs. 3 

Eggs dozens, 15,319 

Egg Beaters 4 

Envelopes 73,800 

Eye Shades 1,949 

Fruits ..cans and jars, 75,079 

Flour bis. 3 

Fish, White bis. 7 

do kegs, 

Flaxseed lbs. 

Faucets 



1 
309 
34 

Fans 10,314 

Feeders 180 

Flat Irons 6 

Finger Stalls 636 

Foot Warmers 6 

Farina Ds. 13,139 

Fruit Saucers 388 

Funnels 3 

Fly Brushes 171 

Flannel yards, 1,466 

Groceries lbs. 3,700 

Green Corn sacks, 3 

Groats lbs. 100 

Gastrions lbs. 3 

Grapes boxes, 130 

do half boxes, 

Ginger, Dry. packages, 3,339 

do. cans, 4 

Ginger, Essence of Ja- 
maica bottles, 16 

Gooseberries, Ripe. bu. 6 

Graters 33 

Garden Seeds... boxes, 30 

Gridirons 4 

Hosp. Car Trucks .sets, 3 

Handkerchiefs 64,345 

Hats and Caps 1,156 

Housewives 3,848 



Hams 686 

Haversacks 18 

Hops Bbs. 561 

Herbs Bbs. 55 

do packages, 337 

Hatchets 16 

Herrings boxes, 33 

Hominy Bbs. 1,955 

Honey cans, 9 

do bottles, 3 

Havelocks 319 

Horseradish kegs, 1 

do sacks, 1 

do ..jars, 63 

do bottles, 338 

Head Covers 13 

Ice-- - tons, 81 

Ice Cream Freezers-.- 3 

Ink bottles, 433 

Knives and Forks 1,308 

Kettles 13 

LardOil kegs, 3 

do cans, 1 

Lanterns 138 

Lumber feet, 14,500 

Lemons boxes, 131 

do dozen, 83 

Liquorice lbs. 6 

Lemon, Ext. of-- -jars, 130 

Lemon Syrup .bottles, 141 

Linseed Oil kegs, 1 

Lobsters cans, 36 

Lard lbs. 41 

Ladles 3 

Lead Pencils. .-dozen, 309 

Meats-., ----- 4,165 

Mittens. pairs, 11,174 

McLean's Pills -boxes, 6 

Mineral Plants -boxes, 350 

Milk gallons, 139 

Mattresses 473 

Melons 7 

Mustard, ground.. lbs. 14 

do bottles, 103 

do boxes, 898 

Mops 78 

Macaroni boxes, 3 

Molasses. half bis. 4 

do. kegs, 8 

do cans, 15 

do jugs, 15 

do -bottles, 15 

do. gallons, 78 

Mugs 300 

Mosquito Bars 1,758 

Mess Pans. 38 

Mutton Tallow - .cans, 133 

do. lbs. 5 

Mustard Seed lbs. 31 

Neckties 914 

Napkins---- 1,359 

Nuts, Hickory bu. 19 

Nuts, Walnuts bu. 6 

Nails lbs. 1,350 

Nightcaps 153 

Nutmegs lbs. 13 

Needles 7,000 

Oat Meal lbs. 495 

Oranges boxes, 34 

Oysters cans, 1,310 



'2S4: 



SAXITART COMMISSION — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 



Aggregate Receipts or Stores, Etc.— Continued. 



Oakum.- ..packages. 

Onions bu. 

Pillows 

Pillow Cases 

Pantaloons. pairs, 

Pin Cushions 

Pigs' Feet kegs, 

Pepper. Ground.. .ffis. 

do papers, 

Parsnips .bu. 

Pretzels 

Prunes lbs. 

Porter. dozens. 

Pen Holders ..dozens, 

Pins packages. 

Peppers bottles, 

do ...iars. 

Potatoes bu. 

Peaches. Ripe bu. 

Pie Plant. lbs. 

-Pepper Sauce -bottles. 

Puzzles 

Pickles bis. 

do half bis. 

do kegs. 

do firkins. 

do crocks. 

do bottles, 

do cans and .iars. 

Portable Lemonade, 

cans. 
Paper, AYrit'g.. reams. 

Rice T lbs. 

Raisins boxes, 

Rags, Lint and Band- 
ages lbs. 

Shawls 

Spit Cups 

Slippers pairs. 

Sheets.. 



.pairs 



6'Socks 

10,908 Shirts 

26.23i Strainers 

71.671 Slip. Elm Flour, .pkgs. 
2,993 Shoulders. Pork..-fes. 
8,963 Strawberries . - -boxes, 

29 Sardines boxes. 

60 Sausages Rs. 

1,587 , Spittoons 

17 Straw.-. bales, 

282 Spouses packages, 

280 Scissors pairs, 

36, Stretchers 

84 Stone Jugs 

15'Soap lbs, 

6! do cakes, 

6 do bars, 

29.592 do --boxes. 

24iSago lbs, 

56 1 Spoons, Table and Tea, 
133 Sugar i lbs. 

7 Shovels 

911iSpices boxes, 

355: do packages, 

.5011 do B)s. 

BJSkimmers 

111 Suspenders pairs. 

77!Salt --It;>s, 

752i do bis, 

j Sticking Salve -.-rolls, 

P)00 do boxes, 

288 Sauce Pans 

92l|Sour-krout bis. 

191 do half bis, 

I do.- kegs. 

5.5.018' do jai-s, 

54 Starch Rs. 

1.125 Solitaire Boards 

6.590 Steel Pens gross, 

.37.777lTowels - --..-...- 



50.774' 

104,199: 

20 

2 

556 

24 

23, 

375 

292 1 

79 

15 

24 

161 

612 

3,689 

1.017 

168 

6, 

1,032! 

2,028 

5,797 



15 
14 

547 

404 

3 

11 



1.174 

193 

17 

5 

7,732 

25 



62,126 



Tin Cups .- 

Turnips bu. 

Tamarinds jars. 

Thumb Stalls--- .' 

Tin Plates.. - 

Tin Ware boxes, 

Tonorues, Dried 

Toast, Dry.... bis. 

do lbs. 

Tumblers 

Tea. Bs. 

Tables 

TeaPots 

Tapioca lbs. 

Tobacco ..papers, 

do boxes, 

do lbs. 

do bis. 

Thread. Patent. ...lbs. 
Tomatoes, Ripe bu. 

do. Canned lbs. 

Turkeys, Dressed and 

Live lt>s. 

Urinals 

Vests 

Vermicelli fi>s. 

Vinegar bis. 

do kegs, 

do .iugs. 

do bottles. 

"Whitewash Brushes .. 
Wines. Liquors and 

Cordials. -.bottles. 

Wash Stands 

White Lead kegs. 

Whisky gallons, 

Yeast Powders lbs. 

Yeast Cakes It>s. 

l''east sacks. 



Jl,341 



22 

1,062 

2 

717 

26 

1.680 

762 

1.570 

34 

33 

76 

3.088 

8 

1.051 

3 

128 

3 

2,765 

29 

125 

538 

70 

19 

3 

4 

10 

24 

JS.269 

100 

1 

10 

20 

28 



CHAPTER IX. 



G-ENEEAL AID SOCIETY FOR THE AEMY. 



BUiPiF^XiO Bi^^isroia: 



UN^ITED STATES SAXITAET COM MISS 10 is". 

Although considerably surpassed in amount of material 
contribntions by several other of our Branches, the work of 
the Army Aid Society of Buffalo deserves to be commemo- 
rated as no less creditable to those concerned in it than was 
any of a similar kind done elsewhere. With limited means 
at command, and in the face of considerable opposition, 
a handful of devoted women labored here unweariedly 
throughout the war. Taking upon themselves all the 
departments of our work, they united with that which 
came to their doors a Soldiers' Home, established and 
maintained through theu' own efforts, and sent to our 
depots at Louisville or Washington many thousand dollars 
worth of well- selected and carefully-prepared supplies. 
From the fact that similar societies were organized at 
Rochester, Syracuse, and other cities of the interior of 
Xew York, the area that was tributary to Buffalo was 
exceedingly cii'cumscribed. This field was, however, most 
faithfully tilled by the ladies of the xlrmy Aid Society, and 
we have every reason to believe that, if their energ}^ and 
talent could have had wider scope, the results accomplished 



286 SAIiq^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMEKT. 

by tliem would have been fnll}^ equal to those attained by 
such of their co-laborers as were more fortunately situated. 
The President of this Society, Mrs. Horatio Seymour, 
devoted herself to its work with such enthusiasm and 
success, and administered the affairs of the Society with 
such marked ability, that simple justice requires that she 
should be placed in the front rank of that great army of 
noble women to whom we ow^e the success of the Supply 
Department of the Commission. Her associates in the 
management of the Society displayed equal devotion to 
their work. 

The Army Aid Society was organized in December, 1861. 
The initiatory steps toward that end were taken by the 
Rev. Gr. W. Hosmer and Rev. G. W. Heacock, Associate 
Members of the United States Sanitary Commission, and 
they contributed largely to the success of the enterprise by 
lectures and correspondence. 

The following is a list of the officers and managers who 
conducted the affairs of the Buffalo Branch, almost without 
change, through its four years of earnest and efficient work : 

President Mrs. HORATIO SEYMOUR. 

^^. „ .^ ^ ( Mrs. HENRY D. SEYMOUR. 

Vice Presidents i ^_ 

'. Mrs. J. R. LOTHROP. 

Treasurer Mrs. J. P. AVHITB. 

Secretary Miss GRACE E. BIRD. 

Ass1.ta.it Secretaries \ ^^«« ™^^^ ^- BABCOCK. 

1 Miss KATE M. SMITH. 
Directress of Cutting Deportment.. Miss JOSEPHINE L. SALTAR. 

Mrs. CYRUS ATHEARN. 



Executive Committee 



Mrs. ISAAC A. JONES. 
Mrs. JAMES BRAYLEY, 
Miss SUSAN E. KIMBERLY. 
Mrs. C. L. brace. 
Mrs. D. B. waterman. 
Mrs. WM. WILKESON. 



The fourth and final report of this Society gives a brief 
but clear business statement, which shows that the limited 



BUFFALO BRAI^CH. 287 

Held which these ladies cultivated was made to yield a rich 
hai'vest : 

It is with mingled feelings of joy and regret that we j^resent to 
our contributors this our last report — ^joy that the necessity for 
which we labored has been removed, and that peace reigns over our 
beloved country ; and sorrow that Ave must bid adieu to those with 
whom we have worked so liarmonioi,isly foi' nearly four years. 
Ignoring all political or religious differences, one common sympathy 
has united us ; Ave haA'e thought only of our brave boys on battle 
field, or in hospital, and, with that energy prompted by the deep 
emotions of the beart, we have endeavored conscientiously to send 
out those supplies Avliicb your labor of love lias sent us. 

We thank you earnestly for the means you have proAdded us 
AAdth to carry on our Avork, and for the prompt and cbeerful manner 
in which every appeal has been met. We know all self-sacrifices 
made for this purpose have been amply repaid by the grateful 
thanks of the thousands Avho in the hour of suffering have 
murmured "God bless the Sanitary Commission!" Yes, we Avill 
all join in that prayer, and it is Avith pride we will say our efforts 
helped to sustain that noble philanthropic charity. We honor its 
founders ; the spirit of brotherly love seems to inspire all its 
members; the interest of one is the common interest of all. As 
time obliterates the sad events caused by the greatest of civil 
Avars, and history records the past, the doings of our Commission 
will appear amidst the dark deeds as an oasis whence emerges 
the Angel of Mercy to show that the cup of kindness was not 
drained. 

We closed our Aid Rooms in July, as our Avork in the Supply 
Department was then finished. The generosity of our loyal-hearted 
citizen, in giAdng us the use of these rooms for nearly four years, 
is worthy of record. We cannot shut out from our memories the 
scenes which will ahvays hallow these rooms to us. The sister, 
(whose brother had gone out in his country's defense,) coming to 
us one bleak, cold day, having rode twelve miles in a stage with 
her two little children, to ask for shirts to make. She was poor, 
had no money to give, and, with tearful eyes, said she " must do 
something for the soldiers." We gave her what she asked, and 
turned self-reproached to our duties. Nor can we forget the old 



288 sa:n^itary commission — western department. 

true-hearted, patriotic farmer wlio drove to the door, one of the 
severest days in November last, with the load of potatoes which 
- wife and he had dug/" and " only wished there were ten times as 
many for the hoys/' Repeated instances like the above have 
endeared us to our people. 

We feel it due our auxiliaries that a statement of the disburse- 
ments of their gifts from the organization of the Society should be 
made. 

In the year 1861, the General Aid Society for the Army, as a 
Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, was organized; 
Rev. Dr. Hosmer, of our city, taking the first step, by writing 
various letters to the adjacent towns, to interest them in the cause 
and prove to them the necessity of a systematic and reliable means 
of sending their supplies to the army. 

Our Auxiliaries the first year numbered one liundred and 
seventy-two. 

The first year we disbursed 66,987 articles, and received ^ 5,80y 

The second year we disbursed - 72,601 articles, and received 15,600 

The third year we disbursed 59,000 articles, and received 21,667 

The fourth year, to September 1, we disbursed 11,582 articles, and received 9.049 

Total Number, Sept. 11865— Di.«(7^»r8Cf7.. 210,170 articles. Received.. ^52,125 

Our supplies have gone principally to the West; two thousand 
seven hundred and three packages to Louisville, and six hundred 
and twenty-five to New York, en route for the Eastern army. Our 
Auxiliaries have been composed generally of the farming districts, 
the large towns in the western part of the State preferring to send 
their supplies to lN"ew York. 

We have cut and provided materials in our Aid Rooms for 
twenty thousand seven hundred and thirteen shirts, twelve 
thousand one hundred and seventy-nine pairs drawers, three 
thousand and sixty-five pairs socks, twenty pairs mittens, and 
forty-five hospital garments. Our xVuxiliary Societies have made 
and returned to us these articles. I'hirty (piilts have been made 
for the '' Rest,"' from the i)ieces left after cutting shirts and drawers. 
Tliis department has lieen the great means of uniting our Societies 
to us, and of sustaining each individually. Meeting to sew, the 
interest in our general work was readily difi'used to its members by 
means of letters, the l^itlletins and Re])()rters. 



BUFFALO BEAXCH. 289 

Our correspondence with the Hospital Directories, East and 
West, has given us great satisfaction, as, in many cases, relatives 
have received information they would not otherwise have had. 
Two hundred and ninety letters have been written since June, 1864, 
receiving one hundred and fifteen conclusive answers. 

Our Treasury has been supplied through the following sources : 
Contributions and collections made by our Auxiliary Societies, 
individual contributions, mite societies, membership fees, fairs, 
bazaars, private theatricals, collections by public school scholars; 
Pope Pius IX., through Bishop Timon, five hundred dollars. Little 
children, those generally under twelve years of age, have given us 
over two thousand five hundred dollars, proceeds of their sales at 
fruit stands, fairs and sewing societies. 



19 



CHAPTER X. 



P I T T S 13 U R a 11 S A N I T A R Y C O yi M I T T E 10 . 



IPITTSSU^aO-H Siej^IsTCKC 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. 

Perhaps tlie inhabitants of no portion of onr conntiy 
are more fervently loyal than those of Western Pennsyl- 
vania, and during the recent war no other section gave 
stronger evidence of devotion to the Union than did Alle- 
ghany county. The number of volunteers offered to the 
Government from that District was probably fully equal to 
that derived from any other of equal population. Wlien 
the ill-timed order from the War Department, announcing 
that we had soldiers enough, put a stop to recruiting, it 
left a large number of volunteers from Pittsburgh and 
vicinity, knocking at the door, eager to be admitted to the 
army of our country, and greatly disappointed when that 
privilege was refused them. This was only one of tlie forms 
in which this warm-hearted and patriotic pi^ople showed 
their devotion to the cause of the North. It was to be 
expected, therefore, that in such a population the volunteer 
movement for the benefit of our soldiers, which pervaded 
all the North, sliould manifest itself by palpable signs ; and 
in fact tlie citizens of Pittsburgh took a prompt and vigoi- 
ous part in efforts to relieve the many cases of want and 
suffering wliicli attended tlie first organization of our arm}-. 



PITTSBURGH BRAKCH. 291 

At the time of the battle of Sliiloh they chartered, equipped 
and freighted with stores two large river steamers, which 
did their full part in the great work of mercy then accom- 
plished ; and throughout the war they were conspicuous 
for their charities, as they were for their patriotism. When 
I came to the West, as a representative of the Sanitary 
Commission, in the autumn of 1861, I endeavored, by 
means that were uniformly successful elsewhere, to secure 
the establishment of a Branch of the Commission at Pitts- 
burgh, ^o organization was, however, effected up to the 
time when Rev. Mr. Hadley, traveling agent of the Com- 
mission, arrived there and gained the co-operation of a 
number of citizens for the formation of a Branch Commis- 
sion, to be connected with the Eastern Department. For 
some reason this scheme failed of accomplishment, but not 
through any want of interest on the part of the people in 
the object for which the Sanitary Commission was created. 
Much was done at Pittsburgh, both for the equipment of 
regiments and hospitals and for relief of battle field suffer- 
ing, during the first year of the war, by the spontaneous 
action of the citizens, and without systematic organization ; 
as will appear from the following extract from the first 
report of the "Sanitary Committee:" 

Immediately on receiving news of the battle of Shiloh, t^ie 
Board of Trade and citizens of Pittsburgh resolved to send an 
expedition to the relief of the wounded, and appointed " The Pitts- 
burgh Sanitary Committee " to carry into effect the patriotic design. 
Two of the best Ohio steamers were chartered by the Committee, 
fitted out with the necessary medical and Sanitary stores, and, with 
thirty surgeons and nurses, started for Pittsburg Landing, in charge 
of the chairman. The instructions to the expedition were, to bring 
home as many as could be carried, that they might be nursed and 
cared for at the expense of the citizens and without charge to the 
United States. When the expedition arrived at Pittsburg Landing, 
it was too late to aid the wounded, most of whom had been already 



29*2 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

remoyed. About eighty were taken on board, and the steamers 
were filled to their utmost capacity with the worst cases of the sick. 

The cost of the expedition, together with the establishment 
and maintenance of a hospital for those brought to the city, exclu- 
sive of a large quantity of stores and a generous contribution of 
quilts and blankets from the Cincinnati Committee, was about six 
thousand dollars. It is believed that hundreds of soldiers" lives 
were saved by it to bless the patriotic impulse that sent them relief. 

In anticipation of the battles before Richmond, another public 
meeting was held and the Committee re-appointed, with a few addi- 
tional members. Sanitary stores were hastily collected, and a 
deputation of more than thirty surgeons and nurses from Pitts- 
burgh and its vicinity sent to the Army of the Potomac. The cost 
of this expedition (many of the nurses being necessarily under pay) 
was about three thousand dollars, exclusive of Sanitary stores. 

That the expenditure was amply remunerative in benefits to the 
suffering soldiers, we have abundant proof from themselves, as well 
as from official sources. A portion of the deputation was left at 
the hospitals at Fortress Monroe; twenty-three went to Savage's 
Station, seven miles from Richmond. There Avere nearly two 
thousand of our sick and wounded at the Station when it was 
abandoned by our army, and in a few days the number increased to 
twenty-five hundred. Twelve of the Pittsburgh deputation volun- 
tarily remained with them, and were captured by the enemy. Dr. 
John Swinburne, the United States surgeon in charge, commends 
their services in his official report to the Government, and, in a 
letter to the Adjutant (leneral of Peunsylvania, says: "But for the 
aid of Mr. Brunot and his corps, it would have been impossible for 
me to accomplish what I did at Savage's Station." The expendi- 
ture for this expedition would have been a small price for one 
patriot's life. But for its aid hundreds would have perished. 

In tlie autumn of \i>62 Mr. Josepli Shippen, military 
agent of tlie State of Peniisj^lvania, visited the camps of oui* 
army in Kentucky and Tennessee, where there were several 
ic^gimcnts of Pennsylvania troops. Favorably impressed 
with the catholic s])irit which ])(M'vad(Hl our organization, 
and couviucrd of tlir im])i-acticability of dividing the army 



PITTSBUEGH BEAXCH. 293 

by state lines in a work of charity like onrs, he, on relin- 
quishing the position which he held, wrote to me the 
following letter : 

Louisville, December 20, 1862. 
Dr. J. S. Xewberry, 

Secretary Western Departmeni l'. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Sir — Under a commission from the Governor of Pennsylvania to \isit 
the regiments and to report the condition of the sick and wounded from 
that State throughout the Western Department, I came to Kentucky in the 
early part of November, and since then, in pursuance of my instructions, 
my time has been employed in visiting the hospitals of Louisville, New 
Albany, Jeffersonville. Lexington. Lebanon. Perryville, Danville, Bowling 
Green and Xashville. 

The purpose of this communication is to express to you my appreciation 
of the kindness and courtesy I have constantly, while in this Department, 
received from yourself, from the gentlemen connected with the Louisville 
Branch Commission, and fi-om your agents every where : and to bear testi- 
mony to the faithfulness and efficiency which I have personally witnessed 
in the performance of the duties imposed upon you all. Aware of the 
prejudices which exist in some minds against the United States Sanitary 
Commission, I have embraced the opportunity presented to me to become 
acquainted with the objects to which your attention is directed, the system 
you have adopted for accomplishing them, and the degree of success that 
attends your efforts. Your system of keeping accounts and correspondence 
seems to me simple, yet comprehensive ; your business is conducted with 
economy; and the agents you have employed, so far as my observation 
extends, are active and faithful men, and take pleasure in ministering to the 
needy. The trust of distributing hospital stores, committed to their hands, 
I am led to believe, fiom my own observation and the testimony of various 
surgeons, to be faithfully and conscientiously executed. On seeing the 
imperative needs existing in the hospitals at Xashville, Bowling Green and 
Perryville. my only regret was that the supply of goods from your rooms 
fell so far short of the demand. 

These facts I have communicated to Governor Curtin, and one of my 
recent reports urgentlj-^ recommended that whatever hospital stores the 
Surgeon General of Pennsylvania might design for the Western Department 
should be forwarded to your care at Louisville. 

My admiration has been aroused by the broad, generous spirit with 
which your Commission is animated. It recognizes all suffering soldiers to 
be brothers needing help and succor, and it strives to do the greatest good 
to the greatest number, regardless of State lines and local distinctions. 
Observation and reflection teach that this is the true system of benevolence, 
founded upon pure patriotism. All special distributions are attended with 
great difficulty and expense, and inevitably engender State pride at home 
and jealousy among the soldiers. They are opposed to the fundamental 



294 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

idea for which vre are warring — our undivided nationality. If the people 
throughout the breadth of our land would accept these facts, and would, 
with doubled energy, in unison and co-operation work for the cause of 
suftering humanity upon these principles, how much the sick soldier would 
gain. 

With sincere respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

Joseph Shippen, 
Commissioner from Pennsylvania. 

On Ms return home Mr. Sliippen for a time devoted 
liimself to a canvass of Western Pennsylvania in the 
interest of the Sanitary Commission. Through his labors 
at Pittsburgh, more definite form was given to the benevo- 
lent efforts of her people, and, early in 1863, the Pittsburgh 
Sanitary Committee was organized, wdiich from that time 
became one of the most active and efficient of our Auxiliary 
Societies. Its organization was as follows : 

PresiiUnt ...THOMAS BAKE WELL. 

^,. „ ., (reuben miller. 

^^^^^'^^^^^"'^-If.r.brunot. 

Secretary JOSEPH R. HUNTER. 

Treasurer JAMES PARK, Jb. 

And twenty-one additional members. 

To this committee of gentlemen there w^as, however, 
immediately added the "Ladies' Relief Association," repre- 
sented by the following officers : 

President... Miss RACHEL McFADDEN. 

Vice President... Miss SUSAN J. SELLERS. 

Secretary. Miss MARY BISSELL. 

Treasurer.. Miss MARTHA BAKEWELL. 

This Association worked in perfect Jiarmony with the 
other, and gave to the efforts of the Society all the refine- 
ment, earnestness and efficiency wliich woman everywhere 
(contributed to our w^ork. By a sad coincidence, the Presi- 
dents of botii the ladies' and gentlemen's committees have, 
since the close of the war, been removed by death. Mr. 
Bakewell closed a Icmg life of usefulness and honor most 



PITTSBUEGH BRANCH. 295 

fittingly with his labors in behalf of humanity and patriotism 
in the Sanitary Commission. Miss McFadden, on the con- 
trary, was cnt off in the prime of life, undoubtedly as a 
consequence of her incessant and arduous labors in the 
cause to w^hich she devoted herself with all her characteristic 
and conspicuous enthusiasm. She adds another to the 
ranks of the great army of martyrs who have sacrificed 
their lives for their country ; and all who knew this 
admirable woman will sustain me in saying that there are 
few who better deserve a cr( )wn. 

Throughout the last three years of the war I w^as in 
almost daily receipt of hospital stores from Pittsburgh, 
which, as will be seen in the tabular report given further 
on, were in most generous quantity, and I should also say 
that, in their skillful selection and adaptation to our w^ants, 
as well as in the care and nicety of their preparation, they 
bore evidence of the judgment and thoughtfulness of the 
gentlemen who made the purchases, and of the skill and 
industry of the ladies who prepared them. 

Contributions of money, which were in the highest degree 
liberal, were constantlj' made to the Sanitary Committee by 
the citizens of Pittsburgh, yet these failed to full}^ supply 
the wants or satisf^^the enthusiasm of our co-laborers there; 
so that, in the spring of 1864, Pittsburgh followed the lead 
of Chicago, Cincinnati and Cleveland, and held one of 
those memorable Sanitary Fairs, which, in their magnitude, 
harmony, beauty and success, have been the wonder of this 
generation, as they will be of generations to come. 

The buildings constructed for the Cleveland Fair were 
purchased by the citizens of Pittsburgh, and re-erected there 
under the supervision of Mr. Elliot, whose taste had 
originally planned and adorned them. Considerably en- 
larged, and decorated anew, they were again filled with 
contributions which represented almost every product of 



296 SAXITARY C0MMISSI0:N^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

human industry, and every form of nature's resources, and 
were daily and nightly thronged with crowds of eager 
purchasers. JN^o other such exhibition of the wealth, 
patriotism and taste of the inhabitants of Pittsburgh has 
been given, and — as I have said of the other Sanitary 
Fairs — it is scarcely possible that the present generation 
will anywhere in our country' again witness so gay and 
grand a scene. 

Gross Receipts of the Fair.... $361,516 17 

Expenses 41,353 11 

Net Proceeds.- $320,164 06 

Previous Receipts by Pittsburgh Sanitarj' Commission... 24,340 08 

Total, Receipts of this Branch $344,504 14 

This sum was expended as follows : 

To the Pittsburgh Subsistence Committee $ 31,121 98 

Alleghany County Monument.. 3,000 00 

Purchase of Supplies 127,531 35 

Office Expenses, Packing, etc. 2,850 81 

Balance in Treasury at close of war 180,000 00 

Total ....$344,504 14 



At tlie disbanding of this Branch of the Sanitary Com- 
mission, after paying all its liabilities there remained in the 
Treasury one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. This 
sum was invested in United States seven-thirty bonds, the 
interest of which was appropriated by the Society for 
maintaining a permanent Home for Disabled Soldiers. 
The tine buildings and property known as the Western 
Pennsylvania Hospital, and more recently as the Insane 
Asylum, were turned over to the Commission for this 
pui'])()S(', on ('ondition that all patients sent there b}^ the 
city autliorities should i'(M;eive the same care as the soldiers. 
The grounds pertaining to the Home are in the suburbs, 
and include an ai-ra of twentv-five aci'os. The main 



PITTSBURGH BRAJ^CH. 297 

building is four stories liigli, with two wings of three 
stories ; the whole affording accommodations for two hun- 
dred patients. This establishment was opened in its new 
character August 4, 1865, Dr. C. B. King in charge as 
Superintendent . 

It is also proposed to establish at the Home a school, 
in which shall be taught book-keeping and telegraphing, 
and such other branches of useful emplo^^ment as the 
inmates may be fitted for. The beauty and healthfulness 
of the location and the tasteful and commodious buildings 
make this one of the most attractive public institutions in 
the country, and its consecration to the purpose for which 
it is now^ used — a permanent asylum for disabled soldiers — 
renders it a noble and fitting monument of the organization 
to which it owes its existence. 

To give some idea of the amount of business transacted 
by the Pittsburgh Sanitary Commission, we subjoin a list 
of some of the principal articles shipped, with the quantities 
of each : 

HOSPITAL, DIET. Potatoes - - bu. 8,861 1 Handkerchiefs 9,300 

Shirts 27,841 



Ale - — - gallons, 644 Sour-krout . . . gallons, 22,106 

Butter fts. 2,305 Tobacco _ fts. 2,120 

Catsup bottles, 1,260 Wines &Liquors.bots. 36,244 

Crackers 5)s. 1,165 

Fruit cans, 10,747 clothing. 

do., Dried tbs. 35,129 Ann Slings 8,946 

Lime Juice bottles, 1,140 Bandages & Lint., .lbs. 8,587 

Milk, Cond'ns'd.. cans, 1,917 Drawers pairs, 16,292 

Onions bu. 2,515 Dressing Gowns 800 



Socks. .pairs, 6.140 

Towels 12,132 

sundries. 
Bibles and Prayer Books, 88 

Miscellaneous Books 600 

Reading Matter.. -boxes, 500 



After active operations in the field had ceased, the benev- 
olence of the Commission sought a new channel of useful- 
ness, and accordingly a Claim, Agency was established by 
the Pittsburgh Sanitary Commission, by which over twenty- 
five thousand dollars were gratuitousl}^ collected and paid 
over to soldiers, or to soldiers' widows and orphans. An 
Employment Bureau was also maintained for a long time, 
and through its instrumentality situations were obtained 
for about two hundred disabled soldiers, who. but for this 



298 SAlN^ITAEY COMMISSION — WESTEKN DEPAETMENT. 

assistance, might have been thrown npon the charities of 
the people, or, possibly, forced to the commission of crime 
to satisfy their wants. 

Transportation was meanwhile fnrnished to six hnndred 
soldiers, who were out of funds or had lost their passes. 
In short, the Commission w^as constantly on the alert to 
render assistance to the unfortunate. Bands of refugees 
from Virginia were picked up, fed, clothed and forwarded 
to their destination. Large amounts of stores were given 
out in the city to the mendicants of wai*. Wherever there 
Tvas a need it was sup^^lied. 

I cannot better close this imperfect sketch of the Pitts- 
burgh Branch than by quoting the words of one who 
witnessed all its work, and who thus expresses his appre- 
ciation of it: 

Ah honor to the noble men and women who have given the 
truest test of patriotism, next to service in tlie field, by their labors 
and self-sacrifices at home in behalf of the soldiers ! War, at the 
best, is barbarous and cruel — an awful gulf of misery — but when 
festooned by these flowers of sympathy and liumanity, it loses half 
its terrors. 

May America never hereafter require or forget the work of the 
Pittsburgh Sanitary Commission! 



OHAPTEK XI. 



L0UI8YILLE SAIS^ITARY COMMISSION 



iciBJisrTTJCZEC-^ :BiEij^israT3: 



UNITED STATES SANITAEY COMMISSION. 

In June, 1861, several citizens of Louisville, Kentucky, 
were appointed Associate Members of the United States 
Sanitary Commission, among wliom were Rev. J. H. Hey- 
wood, Rev. D. P. Henderson and Dr. T. S. Bell. These 
gentlemen for months, and I may even say years, afterward 
gave a large part of their time to the care of the sick among 
our troops, and from the very first manifested the spirit 
which gave such interest and value to their subsequent 
efforts. 

Receiving sad accounts of the destitution and suffering, 
particularly among the hastily and as yet imperfectly 
equipped Kentucky troops, and the loyal men of Tennessee 
who had been driven from their homes by the rebel forces, 
I felt it to be my duty to go to their relief. I therefore 
visited Kentucky in the latter part of October, accompanied 
by two experienced surgeons — Drs. W. M. Prentice and 
A. N. Read, both of Ohio. 

We were most cordially greeted on our arrival by the 
Rev. J. H. Heywood. A meeting was at once called at his 
house, where a local Commission was organized, composed 
of men well known throughout the West for their patriot- 
ism and intelligence. A depot was immediately established, 



300 SANITARY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

tlie co-operation of the loyal ladies of Louisville secured, 
and a course of usefulness entered upon which continued 
to the close of the war. 

The Kextucky Braxcii Commissiox — as the Society 
then formed was called — consisted of the following mem- 
bers : 

T. S. BELL, M. D. ARTHUR PETER, Esq. R. C. HEWETT, M. D. 

Ret. JOHN H. HEYWOOD. GEORGE D. PRENTICE, Esq. J. P. FLINT, M. D. 
Elder D. P. HENDERSON. W. B. BELKNAP, Esq. L. A. CIVILL. 

R. J. MENIEEE, Esq. JOSEPH HOLT, Esq. 

President.. T. S. BELL, M. D. 

Vice President.. 'RrEV. JOHN H. HEYWOOD. 

Secretary L. A. CIYILL. 

Treasurer ARTHUR PETER, Esq. 

For the year following, the labors of these gentlemen 
were incessant, and of the greatest value to the soldiers in 
garrison and hospital in all parts of Kentucky, and the 
source of constant relief and assistance to the medical 
officers whose duty it was to extemporize hospitals for the 
rapidh^ increasing sick, and the wounded of our numerous 
battles. In the autumn of 1862 I was brought into daily 
intercourse with members of the Kentucky Commission, 
and for three years the work of the Central Office was 
inseparably connected wdth that upon which they w^ere 
engaged. In the first chapter of this Report I have made 
some allusion to the efficiency of the gentlemen composing 
this Board, and of the kindly relations w^hich existed 
between us. It gives me pleasure, however, here to repeat 
that all our intercourse and intimate association served but 
to give me a higher appreciation of the services wdiich they 
rendered to our cause, and to inspire me with an esteem 
and regard for each member of the Commission wiiich must 
be as enduring as life itself. 

An exceedingly brief and modest history of the Kentucky 
Branch Commission has been written by Mr. Heywood, 
from which I quote the following passages : 



KENTUCKY BRANCH. 301 

On the 21st of September, 1861, the 49th Ohio, a gallant, noble 
regiment, passed through our city, bringing quite a number of sick 
soldiers whom, so prompt and instantaneous had been their response 
to the call to join General Rousseau's brave men in meeting and 
repelling Buckner's forces, they had not been able to provide for 
and leave in comfort behind. 

'No regular or permanent hospital arrangements had then been 
made. The sick of Rousseau's brigade had been taken from 
Camp Joe Holt to the Marine Hospital, which was very limited 
in its accommodations, and no new hospitals had been organized, 
though two were in process of organization. As several of these 
sick men of the 49th had contagious disease — the measles — they 
could not be taken to the City Hospital nor to the Infirmary. We 
made arrangements, therefore, with a lady who kept a large board- 
ing-house near the Nashville Railroad depot, and the sick were 
removed to her house, which was thus temporarily converted into a 
hospital, and occupied as such for one month, from September 21st 
to October 22d. Sixty patients were admitted and cared for, some 
of whom were very ill ; but, thanks to a kind Providence, the hand 
of death was laid upon none. 

In improvising this hospital, which was gratefully accepted by 
Dr. Murray, the members of the Commission endeavored to do 
what was in their power to meet the wants of the earnest men, 
whose sickness was owing to sacrifices and exposures cheerfully 
met and borne for our country's sake, and to carry out the 
purpose, which from the outset it proposed and kept constantly in 
view, to co-operate with the Medical Department in its sanitary and 
remedial efforts. 

The sick accumulated very rapidly in our city during the 
autumn of 1861, from the large army stationed between Louisville 
and Green River. The trains brought them up every evening, 
sometimes in large numbers, and not unfrequently without previous 
notice having been sent to the Medical Director, who, notwith- 
standing that he was constantly engaged in providing and keeping 
in readiness regular and permanent hospitals, was thus often 
obliged to extemporize hospital accommodations to meet these 
pressing emergencies. At times his messenger would come to us at 
midnight to obtain sheets, blankets and bedsacks, for perhaps 
fifty or a hundred men brought to him in feebleness and suffering, 



30;^ SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

and not a few in the last stages of disease, in the agonies or uncon- 
sciousness of approaching death. It was a privilege to be able from 
our stores to meet the urgent demand and to join in the sacred 
work of ministering to our brave soldiers in their hours of extreme 
need. 

From friends far and near came those stores, generously given 
by patriotic and humane hearts, free-will offerings for the country's 
altar. Our own citizens, and especially the ladies of the Aid 
Societies in the several wards, were ceaseless in exertion and 
unremitting in contribution, and citizens of nearly all the loyal 
States of the Union were united with them in the kindly work. 

We dispensed the stores thus confided to us in accordance with 
the Saviour's direction — "Freely ye have received, freely give" — 
trusting always that new supplies would come to meet new wants. 
Our hope was not disappointed. It seemed as if the gracious hand 
of God had renewed Zarephath's impressive miracle, for "the 
barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail." 

Experience and the recurring emergencies of the war taught us 
that the purposes of the humane donors could be most thoroughly 
carried out, and the greatest good done to the greatest number of 
soldiers, by making as liberal contributions as was in our power to 
the hospitals — permanent, regimental and camp — to hospital boats 
and hospital trains; by sending promptly large supplies to the 
battle fields for the wounded; by making and keeping the Soldiers' 
Home comfortable and attractive, and by aiding soldiers and their 
families in the collection of back pay, pensions and bounties. 

In these four directions we have principally labored, seeking 
meanwhile to do what we could for soldiers sick in barracks ; for 
discharged or furloughed soldiers coming to us weak, wayworn, 
destitute; and for soldiers' relatives, wives, parents, and sisters, 
whom warm affection and intense anxiety for their beloved ones, 
prostrated by disease or wounds, had brought from far-away homes, 
and who sometimes found themselves among strangers in extreme 
need. 

Hospitals and Hospital Boats. — When one reviews the list 
of names on our records of hospitals or hospital stations, to which 
we were called to contribute regularly or occasionally, and remembers 
tliat those formed but a portion of the hospital arrangements of the 
army of the Union, he is deeply impressed alike with the magnitude 



KEN^TUCKY BRANCH. 303 

of the war which involved so large an amount of sickness, aud with 
the promptness and ceaseless industry of the organized beneficence 
which filled our warerooms and the warerooms of other Branches 
of the Commission, and thus enabled us, in responding to the 
constantly recurring demands, to co-operate with the Medical 
Department in ministering to the relief of our brave men in their 
hours of suffering and need. This list covers points as widely 
remote from each other as Cumberland Gap on the borders of 
Western Virginia, and Memphis, Tenn., and Milliken's Bend, La., 
and a long array of names more or less familiar; all invested with 
the interest imparted by peril bravely met and pain and hardship 
cheerfully borne for patriotism's sacred cause. In addition to the 
hospitals in and around Louisville, at one time twenty in number 
and filled to overflowing with sick aad wounded men, and those in 
our neighboring cities of JSTew Albany and Jefferson ville, we have 
sent from our stores to the hospitals at Ashland, Bardstown, 
Belmont Furnace, Bowling Green, Calhoun, Colesburg, Columbia, 
Danville, Elizabethtown, Frankfort, Camp Gilbert, Glasgow, Green 
River Stockade, Harrodsburg, Henderson, Hopkinsville, Lebanon, 
Lexington, Mill Springs, Muldrough's Hill, Munfordsville, N"elson 
Furnace, Camp ]N"elson, Camp Nevin, New Haven, Paris, Perry- 
ville, Piketown, Shepherdsville, Somerset, Woodsonville — all in 
Kentucky; to the hospitals in Evansville, Ind.; to the following in 
Tennessee — Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cumberland Gap, Fountain 
Head Station, Gallatin, Memphis, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Eichland 
Station ; and to the hospitals in and near Vicksburg, Miss. 

We have aided the "Atlantic," ^^War Eagle," "Empress," 
" Decatur," " City of Louisiana," " Lancaster, No. 4," " Dunleith," 
" Commercial," "Nashville," " Ohio Belle," " McDougal," " Camelia," 
" Dacotah," and other hospital boats, and the hospital trains on the 
railroads from Louisville to Nashville and Chattanooga. 

It is with mingled emotions that we recall the scenes and inci- 
dents connected with the early hospital work in our city, but no feel- 
ing is more vivid or deeper than that of gratitude toward the noble 
women of Louisville and their worthy sisters from Indiana and 
Ohio, who volunteered their services and were unremitting in their 
attentions in that period of peril and anxiety. These loyal ladies 
were as unwearied in their exertions to promote the comfort of the 
sick soldiers as if the sufferers had been their own sons or brothers; 



304: SANITARY COMMISSION — AVESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

some of them spending hours daily in their kindly ministrations, 
while others permitted not a day to pass for months without 
preparing nourishing food for the invalids, and others still took one 
or more of the invalids to their own homes. Dr. Newberry, in one 
of his reports, has paid a touching tribute to the devotion of these 
sisters of Florence Nightingale, some " Sisters of Charity" in name, 
all in spirit and deed : " I look back with a kind of horror to those 
dark days in the history of this rebellion, when the theatre of war 
was at the very doors of the citizens of Louisville ; when camps were 
in her suburbs and troops thronged her streets, when the hastily 
improvised hospitals, including all the public school edifices, were 
crowded with sick, and so imperfectly supplied with cares and 
comforts that every loyal family felt impelled to contribute the 
tithe of its domestic treasures and send its delicately-reared ladies 
to minister, by their own personal efforts, to the suffering and 
destitute of the wards in which they lived. No similar scene had 
been witnessed in our previous history, unless in the epidemics of 
yellow fever at Norfolk and Philadelphia, when a like paralyzing 
gloom formed a dark background on which were illuminated 
similar bright examples of Christian charity." 

As time passed on and the resources at the command of the 
Medical Department increased, and suitable buildings were erected, 
and the hospitals became thoroughly organized and equipped, the 
necessity for the direct services of the unwearying friends in a 
great measure ceased ; but to the end not a few continued their 
ministrations, aiding in the grateful work of restoring thousands 
and tens of thousands to health and strength, and comforting the 
closing hours of the dying. 

Eelief SENT TO Battle Fields. — The battle of Mill Springs 
or Webb's Cross Roads was fought on the 19th of January, 1862, a 
battle gallantly fought and a victory nobly won under the auspices 
of th^;t unassuming, brave commander. General George H. Thomas, 
whose calm courage was a tower of strength to the army in the 
terrible conflict at Chickamauga, and whose masterly combinations 
and Avise generalshi}) made the battle of Nashville one of the most 
brilliant and decisive of the war. 

The number of men engaged in the sharp conflict was not 
large, but there were one hundred and ninety-four patriot wounded 
soldiers to be cared for, and they were in a region of country not 



KENTUCKY BRANCH. 305 

easy of access, and where the comforts of life did not abound. As 
soon as news of the battle reached Louisville, arrangements were 
made by Dr. Murray and our Branch to send the needed articles 
under the care of Dr. A. N. Read, the Sanitary Commission's able 
and devoted Inspector, whose promptness and efficiency proved as 
invaluable then as in after emergencies. 

The battle of Mill Springs was speedily followed by the brilliant 
achievements which resulted in the capture of Fort Donelson. On 
the 16th of February the fort, with ten thousand prisoners and 
forty cannon, was unconditionally surrendered to General Grant 
Immediately on receipt of information that the battle was going 
on, we forwarded large supplies, which were distributed under the 
direction of the agents of the Sanitary Commission. 

On the 6th and 7th days of April, 1862, the memorable battle 
of Shiloh was fought. It was our privilege, in conjunction with 
the citizens of Louisville and the Military Board of Kentucky, who 
entered with cheerful and earnest co-operation into the work, to 
charter the fine, commodious steamers "Telegraph" and "Fair- 
child," and to send them to Pittsburg Landing loaded with Sanitary 
stores and bearing a most efficient corps of volunteer nurses, noble- 
hearted men and consecrated, self-sacrificing women, under the 
guidance of Dr. Chipley, the skillful physician and earnest philan- 
thropist. Self-sacrificing! How justly applicable, how exactly 
descriptive the epithet, the heart testifies in its pensive, hallowed 
and hallowing remembrance of Mrs. Susan Bell, whose brave, 
patriotic, martyr spirit was indeed strong, but whose physical frame 
was all too weak for the trials and exposures of that voyage of 
mercy. Its duties she performed faithfully, lovingly, but her over- 
tasked powers never rallied from their exhaustion. 

It is with gratitude that we remember the privilege we enjoyed 
in being able to aid in adding two well-equipped vessels to that 
large Sanitary fleet which went as with the wings of a dove up the 
Tennessee, and whose presence was welcomed as health and life to 
thousands of sick and suffering men. 

On the 9th of October of the same year, word was brought us of 
the battle of Perryville, fought on the day previous. We called 
upon the citizens for aid ; a public meeting was convened by the 
Mayor, and a hearty response was made. Three large army wagons 
were loaded and sent forward on the 10th inst. On the 11th 

20 



306 SAXITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

twenty-one ambulances and two furniture cars went with their 
precious loads of Sanitary stores, and on the ITth three more 
wagons were sent on their errand of mercy, and thereafter con- 
stantly, so long as there was need, large quantities of valuable 
packages were forwarded by the transportation kindly furnished by 
the Medical Department of the army. 

Our gratification in being able to send these contributions to 
our soldiers in their hour of need was greatly increased by the 
promptness with which many of our most earnest citizens volun- 
teered to assist in their distribution and in nursing the wounded. 
Co-operating heartily with Dr. Read, whose experience acqtiired at 
Mill Spring, Fort Donelson and Pittsburg Landing was invaluable, 
they rendered inestimable service in their kindly deeds to the 
living, and in the respect paid to our common humanity in their 
care for the dead. 

The last day of 186"2 and the first day of 1863 were made memo- 
rable by the battle of Stone Eiver. In consequence of the breaks 
made by the rebel cavalry in the Louis\dlle and Xashville Railroad. 
Sanitary stores could not at once be forwarded by that route, but 
large supplies were sent by the steamer "Lady Franklin," employed 
for the time as a hospital boat, and with them went several of the 
earnest men and devoted women, to whose kindly care and faithful 
nursing on the steamer "Telegraph/" imder the blessing of God. 
many a soldier, sick and exhausted from the terrible conflict at 
Pittsburg Landing, owed his life, and the country the continued 
services of many a brave defender. 

In the month of June, 1863, the large steamer -'Jacob Strader'* 
was chartered by Dr. N"ewberry to take Sanitary supplies for the 
army then engaged in its heroic work around Yicksburg — work 
that moved on as with the majesty of destiny to its consummation, 
but which, during its progress, was very exhausting to the soldiers 
engaged. In response to the ap]3eal made, our citizens contributed 
seven thousand dollars, with the proceeds of which, and with liberal 
supplies from the storehouses of the General Commission, the noble 
vessel was thoroughly furnished and sent on her mission. The 
"Jacob Strader " belonged to the Louisville and Cincinnati Mail 
Steamship Company, to whose President, Z. M. Sherle}^, Esq., the 
Commission is deeply indebted, not only for the generosity exhibited 
in carrying without charge great quantities of Sanitary stores, for 



KENTUCKY BRAXCH. 307 

^vhicli the customary freight charges would liare been not less than 
eight or nine thousand dollars, but also for his uniform courtesy to 
its agents and representatiyes, and for his efficient aid in the accom- 
plishment of their plans. 

Of the Sanitary measures adopted for the aid of the noble army 
around Vicksburg, one has especial interest and great significance. 
At the time when serious apprehension was felt in regard to the 
yellow fever, and when the testimony of Dr. Warriner, the able and 
faithful Inspector, showed that the terrible disease was already in 
the camps, it was determined by the watchful and intelligent 
officers of the Western Department of the United States Commis- 
sion, in accordance with the advice of the President of the Kentucky 
Branch, to send on the "Dunleith" a large quantity of quinine, 
with printed instructions for its use as a prophylactic. The army 
surgeons co-operated heartily, and the success was complete. The 
disease, which was increasing, speedily ceased under the adminis- 
tration of this effective preventive and antidote, and a most 
impressive illustration was given of the positive and constant power 
which quinine possesses in preventing the development not only of 
yellow fever, but of cholera, dysentery and all diseases due to 
malaria. In view of the well-ascertained facts that a sinHe nio-ht's 
sleep in a malarious locality may infect the system, and that, in 
some persons the poison may lie dormant for weeks and then develop 
itself disastrously, it is alike gratifying and important to know that 
this invaluable medicine, judiciously administered, exerts a specific 
power in preventing the development of malarial poison. The 
Vicksburg experience certainly gave very striking confirmation of 
the correctness of the views presented in the United States Com- 
mission's early and timely tract on " Quinine as a Prophylactic." 

The Western Office of the United States Sanitary Commission 
was established at Louisville in October, 1862. In a short time all 
its departments were in successful operation, and through the 
cordial good will subsisting between the military commanders and 
the Commission, and the admirable system adopted, very satisfactory 
and efficient arrangements were made for the transportation and 
distribution of Sanitary supplies. 

The attention of this Branch was thenceforward more especially 
directed to the aid of hospitals in the vicinity and to the mainte- 
nance of the ••'Soldiers' Home" — superintended successivelv bv 



o08 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTME]sn\ 

Messrs. James Malona and Voltaire Scott, with Messrs. James 
Morton and E. F. Henderson as Relief Agents — all kind, efficient 
men — an instrumentality ver}^ humble in its beginning and 
unpretentious ahvays, but which rendered much comfort to the 
weary and way-worn soldier, and was thus, we gratefully believe, 
of real service to the sacred cause for which he suifered and 
labored. ******* 

Soldiers" Claims. — It was seen, soon after the establishment of 
the Home, that substantial service could be rendered to the soldiers 
by aiding them gratuitously in the collection of the money due 
them, and gradually, as the number of guests increased, this became 
one of the most important and responsible duties of the Superin - 
tendent and Eelief Agent. Inestimable good was done in this 
direction by Mr. James Morton, who was connected with the Home 
for many months, and w^ho brought to the work not only a willing- 
heart and a vigorous mind, but also the systematizing power 
developed in long experience as a banker. To save the feeble and 
exhausted soldier, furloughed or discharged, a long walk and weary 
waiting, rooms w^ere fitted up in the Home, which Major Camp 
consented to take as a Paymaster's ofiice. But often, through the 
carelessness or inefficiency of regimental officers, papers were so 
defective that it became necessary to send them back for correction, 
and in these emergencies it was a kindness, tlioroughly appreciated 
bv the soldier, to have an intellio-ent and thouo-htful friend at hand, 
through whom the papers could be returned and the money, wlien 
paid, })romptly forwarded to him at his distant liome. 

The anunmt of money reported as thus collected for soldiers, was 
thirty tliousand tvro hundred and sixty-eight dollars and twenty- 
four cents. 

At tlie time of tlie closing of the Home, H. H. Burkholder, Esq.. 
wlio had for many months performed with great efficiency in our 
city the duties of Claim and Pension Agent, under the direction of 
the United States Commission, was invited by our Branch to con- 
tinue, as its agent, his very important work. He accepted the 
appointment and lias labored indefatigably, having from November 
1, 1SG5, to July 1, 1866, made up in due form and forwarded to the 
proper offices in Washington five hundred and twenty claims; 
having prejiared, l)y way of additional evidence sustaining claims, 
two ]nindr('<l and hvcnty affidavits: having written, in behalf of 



KENTUCKY BEAXCH. 



309 



soldiers or the heirs of deceased soldiers, one thousand and twenty- 
nine letters ; and haying collected on claims twenty-three thousand 
six hundred and eighty-three dollars and forty-four cents. 

The following table, prepared by Mr. John Patterson, our intel- 
ligent book-keeper and earnest fellow-laborer, shows the number 
and kind of articles disbursed by our Branch of the Commission, 
not including, of course, the large number of unopened packages 
received and forwarded. During the first twelye or thirteen months 
of the war a yast amount of Sanitary stores was sent to us by 
friends of the soldiers from various parts of our country, to be 
forwarded to surgeons of hospitals, regimental surgeons, chaplains 
and officers of regiments and companies, to distribute to the needy 
and suffering in their charge or under their command. To afford 
all the aid in its power and to carry out the kindly purposes of the 
donors, we took charge of the stores and forwarded them to their 
destination. In general, no inventory of these packages was kept ; 
only a record of their reception, from whom they came, by whom 
sent, to whom consigned, and the places to which they were for- 
warded. As the war progressed, and the plans of the United States 
Sanitary Commission for the transportation and systematic and 
impartial distribution of Sanitary supplies came to be understood 
and thoroughly appreciated, and the unity and brotherhood of the 
nation's great army to be felt, contributions for individuals or 
companies or regiments in great measure ceased, being merged in 
contributions for the benefit of all. 



REPORT OF DISBURSEMENTS, 



From Nfov. 4, 1861, to Nov, 1, 1865. 



Adhes'e Plast'r. -rolls, llj 

Ale gallons, 1,837 

Apple Butter-gallons, 514 

Apples bu, 649! 

Arm Rests- 251i 

Bandages B>s. 6,589| 

Bedpans 65i 

Bedsteads- 25! 

Bedticks 3,813 

Blankets---- -.-. 3,825 

Boots and Shoes- -p'rs, 120 

Bowls, Earthen 60 

Brandy bottles, 282 

Bread lbs. 3,965 

Bromine bottles, 45 

Brooms 140 

Buckets 125 

Butter !bs. 6,872 

Cakesand Cookies. B)s. 463 

Camp Kettles 9 



Candles - - lbs. 

Canes, Walking 

Canteens 

Catsup bottles, 

Cedron Bitters --bots. 

Chambers . - 

Cheese lbs. 

Chloroform . . -bottles. 

Citric Acid lbs. 

Cloth, Wat'r-pr'f - .yds. 

Coats and Pants 

Cocoa ...lbs. 

Codfish lbs. 

Coffee, Ground lbs. 

Coffee Pots, Large 

Cologne bottles. 

Combs and Brushes... 
Comforts and Quilts. - 

Compresses lbs. 

Corn Meal -lbs. 



60 

48 

155 

176 

140 

1,274 

188 

10 

16 

45:3 

504 

1,738 

370 

18 

38 

608 

6,058 

6,709 

2,032 



Corn Starch lbs. 

Cots and Litters 

Crackers, Soda lbs. 

Crutches pairs, 

Drawers 

Dress and Bed Gowns. 

Eggs dozens. 

Envelopes --packages. 

Eye Shades 

Fans.-- ---. 

Farina lbs. 

Feather Beds 

Flour barrels. 

Fruit, Dried lbs. 

Fruit, Preserved and 

Fresh cans. 

Games - - 

Gloves and Mitts 

Grapes lbs. 

Hatchets - 



1,231 

196 

6,607 

970 

17,761 

1,276 

7,940 

467 

,347 

865 

1,035 



35,198 

10,643 

66 

3,405 

;300 

13 



310 



SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPART3IEXT. 



DISBURSEMENTS— Co;ifua<C(7. 



Hats 

Havelocks --. 

Herrings boxes. 

Hominy lbs. 

Hops &Herbs,Dr'd . ll>s. 
Horse Radisli. bottles, 

Hospital Cards 

Housewives 

Ice tons, 

Knives & Forks, .each, 
Lanterns, with Lamps, 

Lemons ..- boxes, 

Light Groceries ..-lbs. 

Lounges 

Matches. gross, 

Mattresses 

Meat, Concen'd.-cans, 

Meat, Dried.. lbs. 

do., Fresh & Ham.Rs. 

Milk Can, Large 

Milk, Concen'd..cans, 
Molas's & Syrup-galls. 

Mops, Cotton 

Mosquito Bars 

Mustard lbs. 

Nails lbs. 



20 
6T8 

413 
18.5 

60 

12 

30 

15 

950 

68 

28 

90 

25 

i 

139 

5,057 

751 

2,018 

1 

7,582 

203 

72 

538 

26 

180 



Neck Ties : 

Night Caps 

Oat Meal.... lbs. 

Oil Silk yds. 

Onions bu. 

Oranges boxes. 

Oysters cans, 

Pads and Cushions 

Paper, Writing, quires. 

Pearl Barley Rs. 

Pepper lbs. 

Pepper Sauce.bottles, 

Pickles gallons, 

jPillow Cases 

Pillows 

Pincushions 

Pitchers 

Potatoes bu. 

Rice Rs. 

Salt lbs. 

Sardines boxes. 

Saws, Hand 

Scissors pairs. 

Shawls . 

Sheetins:, etc yds. 



215 

519 

83 

13 

295 

308 

8,847 

410 

4:« 



1,471 

19.700 

11,315 

1,298 

32 

4.174 

1.301 

809 

13 

6 

36 



Sheets 

Shirts... 

Slippers pairs. 

Soap .lbs. 

Socks .pairs, 

Sour-krout ...gallons, 

Spittoons. 

Splints packages, 

Sponges lt>s. 

Spoons 

Straw .bales. 

Tapioca lt)s. 

Tobacco ll)s. 

Towels and H'dk'chfs, 

TinCups 

Tin Pans 

Tin Plates 



Tri 

Urinals 

Vests and Blouses 

Vinegar. gallons, 

Wash Basins 

Whisky bottles. 

Window Shades 

Wines & Cordials. bots. 



9,309 

25,058 

1,217 

644 

13,402 

302 

259 

4 

50 

807 



1.947 

29,407 

i:304 

123 

769 

2 

59 
350 
136 
204 
973 

59 
5.138 



Received in money ^50,185 42 

Expended 47,203 73 



B.A.I.AXCE ox HAND... ..$ 2,981 



In the amount of receipts are included the amounts received in 
commutation of rations, and the sum of ten thousand dollars 
placed in our hands by the United States Sanitary Commission 
from the munificent contribution of California, whose laboriously 
gained treasures were transmuted by patriotism, mightier than all 
the arts of alchemy, into the pure gold of beneficence. We have 
not embraced in the statement the money generously contributed 
by the citizens of Louisville for the fitting out of the steamer 
"Jacob Strader." This liberal donation, had it been included, 
would have added seven thousand dollars to the sum total. 

We know that our Brancli, compared with some other Branches 
of tlie Sanitary Commission, in regard to receipts and disburse- 
ments, is as a rivulet to a river; but it had its origin, we believe, in 
the same fountains of patriotism and humanity, and, as it has 
flowed steadily on, it has helped to swell the mighty Mississippi 
flood which TJod has blessed to the healing: of the nation. 



OHAPTEK XII 



DtTE^w ji^Xj-Bj^isTiT Bi^^isros: 



U KITED STATES SAXITA.RY C0X3IISSI0X. 

The contributions made by tlie people of Indiana to the 
sick and wounded of the army mainly passed through the 
hands of the Goyernor and the State Sanitary Bureau, 
acting under his direction. Yet many packages of stores 
were forwarded to Chicago from the northern portion of the 
State, and perhaps an equal number from the southern 
counties to the Commission of our Associate Members at 
New Albany. The members of this Society, during the 
first year of the war, sustained a lieayy responsibility in 
the care which they assumed of the sick and wounded 
in the hospitals of their own city; and, at a later period, 
when the Goyernment had established extensiye and well 
appointed hospitals at this point, the eiforts of the IS'ew 
Albany Commission did not cease, but were turned in 
other directions, and especially to the maintenance of their 
Soldiers' Home, of which a description is given in the 
chapter on Special Relief. The New Albany Commission 
was composed of the following members : 

R. CRAWFORD, Esq. DANIEL SNIVELY, J. K. WOODWARD. 

JAMES BROOKS, Esq. WM. S. CULBERTSON. B. C. KENT. 

E. H. MANN. M. C. KERR, Esq. J. M. HAINES. 

J. G. ATTERBURY. P. R. STOY. J. J. BROWN. 

E. T. FLETCHER. 

President .R. CRAWFORD, Esq. 

Vice President.. J AUBS BROOKS, Esq. 

Secretary M. C. KERR. 

Treasurer DANIEL SNIVELY. 



312 SAXITARY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

^Vll these gentlemen took part in tlie eqnipment and care 
of tlie liospitals first located in IS'ew Albany, wliicli owed 
whatever of comfort was enjoyed b^^ their inmates to the 
material supplies and personal ministrations received at 
their hands. 

Two of the most active and efficient members of the 
New Albany Branch — Judge Randall Crawford and Mr. 
Daniel Snively— are no longer living; both having died 
just at the close of the war, ending their lives of honor and 
usefulness with this their last good work. Judge Craw- 
ford, it will be remembered, was one of the delegates who 
went to Fort Donelson on the "Allen Collier.'' There, as 
elsewhere, he exhibited the high qualities which gained for 
him the enviable reputation he enjoyed throughout the 
State in which he lived. Mr. Snively was, from the first, 
most constant and unwearied in his efforts for the ameliora- 
tion of the comfort of the soldiers quartered in or passing 
through Xew Albany, and he charged himself with the 
immediate care and supervision of the Soldiers' Home. 
He was a warm-hearted patriot, and inseparably identified 
with every good work accomplished in his place of resi- 
dence, and his death was sincerely mourned as that of one 
of its purest and most useful citizens. 

Although the supplies at the command of tlie New 
Albau}' Branch were limited in quantity, the}' were no 
measure of its usefulness, as much the larger part of the 
contributions they made to the cause in which we were 
engaged consisted of personal labors among the sick ; by 
far the most laborious and trying, while at the same time 
the most effective, of the duties which devolved upon our 
representatives. Located, as our New Albain' co-laborers 
w(-i'e. for a long time upon the frontier, and throughout 
the war at an iiii])()rtant hos])ital center, the demands 
upon tlicni were constant and on<'i'()US. P)Ut of all this 



KEW ALBA:^rY BRANCH. 313 

no record has been made. No report has been published 
by the members of the Society; for, with characteristic 
modesty, they worked without hope or expectation of 
praise. From my position, during three years, in Louis- 
ville — but four miles distant — I had ample opportunity 
of observing the work of our New Albany Associates, and 
I do not hesitate to say that we nowhere had more faithful 
co-laborers ; and whatever honor is due to those who any- 
where devoted themselves unselfishly and efficiently to their 
work, of this honor they deserve an equal share with any 
equal number. 



OHAPTEK XIII. 



ESTABLISHED BY THE 

UNITED STATES SANITAEY COMMISSION. 

The Union army in the Department of the Cnmbeiiand, 
from the commencement of the year 1863 to the close of the 
War, was subject to peculiar conditions. 

Practically in the heart of an enemy's country, from 
which only the most meager supplies could be obtained, 
with a single channel of communication connecting it with 
the storehouses of the North, and this frequentl}^ broken by 
rebel raids and other causes, it was a Avork of the greatest 
difficulty to furnish in sufficient quantity the most essential 
of army and hospital stores and the material of war. 

Supplementary hospital supplies, vegetables, and various 
articles of extra diet designed to promote the I'ecovery of the 
sick and to preserve the health of the men in the field, were 
furnished by the loyal people without stint, enough to full}- 
employ all the transportation that could be spared for that 
purpose. But transportation was always limited, and the 
amount of stores that coidd be forwarded to the army 
was constantly inadequate. From this cause solely there 
was a necessity for constant economy in the use of supplies, 
and for the adoption of every practical mode of adding to 
the availabh3 stock from the resources of the country. The 
most f(.*asi])]e and reliabh^ mode of increasing the su])i)ly 
of vegetable food, and of securing it also in the summer 
months, when most needed, and ol)tained with most diffi- 
cultv from tlic North, secerned to be tlie establishment of 



HOSPITAL GARDENS. 315 

vegetable gardens, which, it was thought, might be made 
to supply, in part at least, the wants of the hospitals, and 
also at times yield a surplus for distribution to the most 
needy in the field. Tlie military conditions which made 
it necessary to fortify and garrison posts along the line of 
communication as the army advanced, favored the project 
and provided the necessary protection ; thus permitting the 
accumulation at these posts of a large number of sick and 
wounded for hospital treatment. 

The first effort in this direction was made at Murfreesboro 
in the spring of 1863. Early in tlie year the plan had been 
discussed tliere and at JSTashville, and various opinions had 
been expressed in regard to the policy and practicability of 
the scheme. 

At Murfreesboro, in a brief interview with the Assistant 
Medical Director of the Department, it was agreed that the 
Sanitary Commission should furnish seeds, plants and tools 
for a garden of twenty acres, to be cultivated by convales- 
cent soldiers under the direction and control of the medical 
authorities. John Harriman, a practical gardener, a private 
of the 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was detailed as super- 
intendent, and the work immediately commenced. Land was 
selected near the general field hospital, and Dr. Finley, the 
accomplished surgeon in charge, assumed general charge of 
the. work, and spared no pains to make the experiment a 
success. In place of twenty acres, about sixty were finally 
put under cultivation. The season proved favorable, and 
an abundant supj)ly of fresh vegetables for all the hospitals 
of the post vindicated the policy adopted, and exerted a 
marked influence toward establishing vegetable gardens as 
a regular adjunct of hospitals at the permanent posts in the 
Department. 

After the work was commenced at Murfreesboro, a 
garden of about thirty acres was also planted at Nashville, 



316 SANITARY COMMISSION^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

wliicli afforded veiy essential aid to all tlie hospitals at 
that post. 

The adA^ance of the army to Chattanooga, the large rein- 
forcements added, and the increased difhcnlties of transpor- 
tation required that an experiment wliich had proved so 
successful should be repeated on a larger scale and at 
every practicable point. All had seen the benefits already 
derived from this source, and were ready to co-operate 
in furnishing the necessary aid, so far as this could be 
done. 

Chattanooga was the great base of the army and the 
general depot of supplies ; from there each Division could 
be readil}^ reached, and thither would probably be brought 
large numbers of the sick and wounded of the coming 
campaigns. 

It was, on these accounts, determined tliat a garden 
should be established here, as large and productive as 
practicable; and Mr. M. C. Read, agent of tlie Commis- 
sion, after consultation with General Thomas, commanding 
the Department, his Medical Director, Dr. Peiin, and with 
General Steedman, then commanding the Post, decided to 
cultivate a garden of not less than one hundred acres, 
and to take the direct and immediate superintendence 
of it as an appropriate part of the w^ork of the Com- 
mission. 

A fine tract of abandoned land, on the left bank of the 
Tennessee River, was chosen b}^ the Medical Director, and 
a special order was issued by the General commanding, 
assigning it to the Commission and protecting the agents 
in its cultivation. The garden was to be the joint work 
of the military authorities and the Sanitary Commission ; 
the former to provide the land, the teams, necessary labor 
and ])r()tection ; the latter, seeds, plants, implements and 
a ])ia(:tical gardener, and to distribute all the products 



HOSPITAL GARDENS. 317 

of tlie garden under tlie general direction of the medical 
authorities. 

In accordance with this arrangement, a supply of seeds 
and tools was ordered, a gardener engaged, and the grounds 
fenced ; but the requisition of the Medical Director for teams 
was returned mth the report that there were no horses or 
mules in the Department that could be spared for garden- 
ing. A personal application by Mr. Read to the General 
Commanding, and to his Chief Quartermaster, received the 
promise of teams as soon as they could be obtained, but 
also elicited the information that the stock then available 
was altogether insufficient for the pressing wants of the 
army. An effort was immediately made to purchase ani- 
mals from the country, but none could be obtained ; they 
could not be brought from Louisville, with any hope of 
protecting them from capture, and railroad transportation 
was overtaxed by government stores and animals. 

When it seemed that the enterprise must be indefinitely 
postponed, an examination of all the corrals of condemned 
and disabled animals about Chattanooga disclosed the fact 
that a sufiicient number might be obtained from them, 
unfit for regular service, but capable of doing fair work 
l^efore the plow. The necessary orders were obtained, 
and about fifty horses selected, of which something like 
one-half, under careful treatment, soon became efi[icient and 
valuable, able to do full work, and, wlien subsequently 
turned over to the Quartermaster, fit for any service in 
the field. 

The delay in securing animals, followed by unfavorable 
weather, rendered it desirable to push forward the work 
more rapidly than the number of plows and other imple- 
ments forwarded from Louisville would permit. To enable 
the agent to meet this emergency, to protect the gardens, 
and insure the necessary aid for the prosecution of the 



318 SAXITARY COMMISSIO^^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Avoi'k, tlie following orders were issued by the militaiy 
authorities : 

Head-Quarters Post and Garrison, 

Chattanooga, Tenn., February 24, 1864. 
To the Offlccrs of the Piehets: 

All soldiers liaviiiir the permit of M. C. Read, Agent United States Sanitary Com- 
mission, to pass the picket line for the purpose of working on the gardens, will be 
permitted to pass at pleasure during the day-time. 

JAMES B. STEEDMAN. 
Brigadier General Commanding Post. 

Post Head-Quarters, 

Chattanooga, Tenn., February 25, 18(54. 
M. C. Read, Esq., 

^±gcnt Sanitarii Commission, Chattanooga, Tenn., 

Is authorized to make an impressment of such farming implements as he may 

need for farming and gardening, from such tools as he may find in the country not in 

actual use or actually necessary to the claimant or owner. 

Bv Command of Brigadier General Steedman : 

S. B. MCE, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 

[Endorsed on back of this :] 

Post Head-Quarters. 

Guards and pickets will pass the bearer, with teams and hands. 

Bv Command of Brigadier Generat, Steedman: 

S. B. MOE, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 



Special Field Orders. 
No. 65. 



Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland, 
Chattanooga, March 5, 1864. 



extract. 

*********** 
XXIV. All soldiers and citizens are hereby prohibited from interfering with the 
Sanitary Commission in the cultivation of certain abandoned lands now under their 
management and control. 
*********** 

Bv Command of Major General Thoaias : 

WM. D. WHIPPLE, 

Assistant Adjvlant General. 

Agent U. S. Sanitarij Commission, Chattanooga, Tenn. 

Post Head-Quarters, 
Chattanooga, Tenn., March 9, 1864. 
Captain Bonneu, 

Foiiji-Second TUinois Infautrff Volunteers, 
Will furnish M. C. Read, Esq., on his application for the same, until further 
orders, s»ich details as he may require to work on the Government gardens. 

Hy Command of Brigadier General Steedman: 

S. B. MOE, 

Ca])tain and Assistant Adjutant Generat. 



HOSPITAL GARDEXS. 319 

Similar orders were issued from time to time during tlie 
season, as tlie efficient prosecution of the work required. 
The garden proved eminently successful ; the yield of vege- 
tables was very large, and they proved of inestimable value 
to the sick. During nearly all the season as large issues 
were made to all the hospitals of the post as could be 
suitabl}' prepared for use, and much of the time there was 
a large surplus for convalescents, detached troops and 
regiments in the field. The cash value of the products 
distributed, at one-half the rates at which similar articles 
were sold to citizens at the post, was not less than seventy 
thousand dollars. 

Large gardens were also cultivated at ISTashville, Mur- 
freesboro and Knoxville, the Commission furnishing seeds, 
tools, etc., and for the garden at Knoxville a superintendent; 
the general management of all these being in the hands of 
the medical authority. They all yielded abundantly, and 
the polic}' of post gardens, as auxiliary to the general 
hospitals, was established on a firm basis. 

At the close of the season the Post Medical Director 
issued a circular to the surgeons in charge of his hospitals, 
asking their opinions as to the value of the hospital garden 
and the propriety of continuing it another year. 

The following are copies of their replies : 

U. S. OiTICERS' GrENERAL HOSPITAL. 

Lookout Mountain, Tenx., October 27, 1864. 
Surgeon C. H. Jones, U. S. Volunteers, 

Medical Director Post. 

Sir— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication, calling 
for a statement as to whether the Sanitary gardens had afforded material aid to this 
hospital, and whether they should be continvied during the ensuing year. My reply is 
most emphatically in the affirmative. 

In July an officer, a patient in this hospital, writing to a Cincinnati paper, says: 
"The Sanitary gardens daily supply the cravings of the sick and wounded witli deli- 
cacies which are almost indispensable to patients who have suffered long from the 
exposures and privations of army life. 

I respectfully suggest that the original plan of the Sanitary Commission, of 
establishing gardens on Lookout :Mountaiii. be carried into effect the coming year. 



320 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

There are several tracts of land near the hospitals well adapted to the pui-pose. 
The garden known as the "brigade garden" contains about forty acres, and is well 
fenced. It produced, as I understand, quite an abundance of vegetables during the 
past summer, which must have added materially to the luxuries of the officers con- 
nected with the brigade on duty at this point. 

I am not aware that any vegetables were furnished to either of the United States 
general hospitals at tliis place by this garden. I take the liberty to recommend that 
the Sanitary Commission make application to the proper authorities for the use of 
said garden, with the view of cultivating it next year for the benefit of the hospitals 
on the Mountain. Considerable transportation would be saved thereby, and vegeta- 
bles, always fresh, be secured in abundance. 

The labor of taking care of the gardens, I think, could be easily performed by 
convalescents belonging to the hospitals. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

LEWIS D. HARLOW, 
Surgeon U. S. Volunteers, in charge. 

U. S. Army General Hospital, No. 2, 

Chattanooga, Tenn., October 38, 1864. 
Surgeon C. H. Jones, U.S. Volunteers, 

Post Medical Director: 
Sir — I have the honor, in obedience to your orders, to report most favorably of 
the Sanitary gardens at this place. 

The supply of vegetables was large and varied, and the most marked courtesy 
and attention was paid to our requests. 

I have lately visited the garden, and observed with much pleasure the care and 
attention bestowed on the i-aising and preserving of their fruits. 

Believing that next year it will be more valuable as an adjunct, I would most 
earnestly recommend its continuance, that the sick soldiers may not be deprived of 
those grateful luxuries which the garden so well and so fully supplies. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

R. M. COWAN, 
Assistant Surgeon U. S. Vohmteers, in charge. 

U. S. Army General Hospital, No. 3, 

Lookout Mountain, Tenn., October 34, 1864. 
Surgeon C. H. Jones, 

Post Medical Director : 
Sir— I have the honor to report, iu answer to your communic-ation containing 
enquiries in reference to the use of the Sanitary gardens at Chattanooga, that a most 
material aid has been rendered to this hospital by said gardens. We have received 
vegetables almost constantly— always when there were any to distribute— which, with 
occasional interruptions at seasons when certain vegetables were not matured, has 
been most of the time. The steward's reply is, almost constantly— " We are receiving 
all the vegetables from the Sanitary gardens that we ask for, and further, that it is 
the only source from whi(;h we can obtain vegetables. I can, with the greatest 
earnestness and heartiness, not only recommend, l)ut urge the continuance of the 

gardens next year. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

R. M. JACKSON, 

Surgeon, in charge. 



HOSPITAL GARDEJq^S. 321 

Provisional Hospital, 
Chattanooga, Tenn., October 23, 1864. 
Surgeon C. H. Jones, U. S. Volunteers, 

Post Medical Director: 
Sir— In compliance with your order of date 33d, as to the utility of the continu- 
ance of the Sanitary gardens, I have the honor to report that the vegetables received 
from them were abundant and their benefits incalculahJe to the sick and wounded. 

Deprived of the supplies from this source, the hands of the medical officer would 

have been paralyzed, especially in scorbutic cases, as none could be procured from 

any other, I cannot urge in too strong terms the continuance of this great auxiliary. 

With sentiments of respect for the great interest you have taken in behalf of the 

sick and wounded, 

I am, sir, yours, 

w. P. Mcculloch, 

Assistmit Surgeon Sevcntu-Eujhtli Pennsylvania Veteran, Volunteers, in clia/rge. 

IT. S. Government Employes' Hospital, 

Chattanooga, Tenn., October 24, 1864. 
Surgeon C. H. Jones, U. S. Volunteers, 

Post Medical Director : 
Sir— I have the honor to report, as requested by you, that the Sanitary gardens 
have materially aided in supplying the wants of the sick and wounded under my 
charge. I cheerfully recommend the continuance of the gardens the ensuing year. 

I am, very respectfully, 5'our obedient servant, 

C. H. MORTON, 

Assista}it Surdco)}. EightJ} Koituchij Voliintco' Infantry, in eha/rge. 

Note. — Dr. J. T. Finley, in a letter dated November 2, 1863, states the following in 
regard to the first garden at Murfreesboro : 

"The garden was a success; the yield of vegetables supplying nearly fifteen 
hundred men for many weeks before the hospital was discontinued. It was an 
experiment that should be imitated at every post of the army during the coming 
year." 

Copies of these reports were forwarded to G-eneral 
Thomas, with an abstract of the issues from the garden 
at Chattanooga up to that date, upon receipt of which he 
issued the following order : 

Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland, 
Special Field Orders, Chattanooga, November 23, 1864. 

N0.33L EXTRACT. 

***♦ * * * * *** 

IV. The protection heretofore furnished the Sanitary Commission in the cultiva- 
tion of abandoned lands for the benefit of hospitals, etc., is hereby renewed, and its 
authority extended over the "• brigade garden " on Lookout Mountain. 

Every preparation will be made for keeping the gardens under its control in full 
cultivation for the ensuing year. 

By Command of Ma.tok General Thomas: 

SOUTHARD HOFFMAN. 

Assistant Admtant General. 



o2'i ^AXITARY COMMISSION — WESTEKN DEPARTMEKT. 

This was followed by an order substantially tlie same, 
but in addition warning all persons ag-ainst trespassing upon 
tlie lands assigned to the Commission, with permission to 
liave the same published in the Chattanooga papers, and 
printed copies of the order posted at the approaclies to the 
garden. 

In the spring of I860 hospital gardens were planted at 
the same points and to about the same extent as in 1864. 
All connected with the army were so fully convinced of 
their value that the desire to plant gardens was almost 
excessive. Seeds were called for, for brigade, regimental, 
battery, head- quarters and garrison gardens, until it seemed 
that almost every detachment of men and every head- 
quarters were to make gardening a part of their regular 
business. 

The hospital gardens were, however, not as productive 
dnring this as in the previous year, the season not being as 
favorable ; but their benefits were marked and important, 
and the result of the three years experiment, it is believed, 
has, in the estimation of all wdio were familiar with it, 
clearly demonstrated the practicability and importance of 
hospital gardens, even for armies engaged in active military 
operations, when permanent posts are to be garrisoned and 
when the necessary protection can be afforded. In all 
ordinary cases convalescent soldiers and those unfit for 
regular duty in the field can do the work, finding healthful 
and stimulating exercise, in place of tlie depressing influ- 
ences of convalescent camps. 

Animals unfit for service can be used and restored to 
vigor, and, with proper organization and thorough super- 
intendence, the whole expense can be made very small, so 
that in fa(?t the vegetables thus ]-aised will cost in ma un- 
cases much less than Wmy could hr pui'chased foi- in the 
sections of* the country inost bountifully supplied. 



CHAPTER Xiy. 



ooisrc:BisrT:Ee.A.T:EX) bee^^ 

MANUFACTURED BY THE 

Ui^ITED STATES SAKITARY COMMISSIONS^. 

Iis^ the reports of stores issued by the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, frequent reference is made to the large quantity of 
concentrated beef furnished to the hospitals at the West. 
This, in fact, except the condensed milk, was the most 
important single item of aliment contained in our supply 
table. Its importance as a battle-field supply early led me 
to desire to use a larger quantity than could be procured 
without an unwarranted expenditure, as the price at which 
it was sold in the Eastern market varied from one dollar to 
one dollar and twenty-five cents per pound. 

In these circumstances it was determined to try the 
experiment of manufacturing it for ourselves. A man was 
found in Cleveland, who, in Paris, had had an experience 
of many years in the preparation of the canned meats, 
soups, etc., for which the French are so famous. His 
services were procured for a short time, and under his 
direction a small factory was established. 

During the first winter — 1862-3 — the meat used in this 
factory was supplied by the beef packers free of cost to the 
Commission, and the manufactured article was enclosed in 
oyster cans, which were carefully preserved, cleansed, and 
contributed by the people of the city. In this way several 
thousand pounds of concentrated beef were distributed to 
the hospitals, at a cost to the Sanitary Commission of about 
ten cents per pound. 



;)24 SAKITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Subsequently it became necessary to purcliase the beef, 
and, in order to obtain cans of requisite tightness, it was 
thought best to manufacture them. The business, there- 
fore, became so complicated and extensive that it could 
not well be managed by the Sanitary Commission, after 
the transfer of the Western Central Office from Cleveland 
to Louisville ; therefore it was turned over to trustworthy 
parties, by whom it was carried on after that time as a 
private enterprise. From them the manufactured article 
was purchased of a stipulated strength — each pound repre- 
senting ten pounds of beef— at a price proportioned to the 
cost of beef in the market at Cleveland. 

The result of this arrangement was, that an article of 
concentrated beef was furnished to the Commission, formed 
from fresh and sweet materials, meat and vegetables, uni- 
versally preferred in the army to any other used there, at 
about half the cost of the article purchased and issued by 
the Government and the Sanitary Commission at the East. 

Tlie concentrated beef furnished to us at fifty cents 
per pound — each pound representing ten pounds of fresh 
beef — was examined by Prof. E. JST. Horsford, for com- 
parison with Martinez' s, of wliich the price was one dollar 
and twenty-five cents per ])ound. Tlie following letter 
gives the result of the com];)arison : 

Washington, D. C, 444 E Street, January 2'6, 18()5. 

Mv Dear Sut— I determined the water in the two samples of beef juice. In 
<ine case a pound of juice represents eight pounds of pure lean meat: in the other 
the amount is ten pounds of moKtly lean meat. What the difference is— whether 
the latter has only added fat, or wlio^thcr there is some juristic, T of course do not 
Icnow; perhaps you do. 

Martinez's left a residue, when evaporated to dryness, of 44.(52 per cent. ; the 
Cleveland, 38.87 per cent. Or, Martinez's has 55,38 per (;ent. of water, and the Cleve- 
land fn.l3 per cent. 

The Cleveland has some onion, and perliaps otlier condiments; Martinez's 
nothing. The Cleveland preparation, according to my notion, should be better, as 
it is made from the meat of less-travelcui cattle. To my taste the Cleveland pre- 
I)aration was more i»alatahl('. Vonrs rosi)cct(iiIly 

K. N. UORSFOUD. 



COKCEKTEATED BEEF. 325 

In tile above test, Prof. Horsforcl estimates the relative 
value of the two samples by the amount of solid matter 
contained in each. This was not quite decisive, as gelatine 
was added to much of the commercial article, by boiling 
the feet and joints with the beef. By this means, the solid 
matter was increased, while no addition was made to its 
nutritious properties, l^or is this all. The commercial 
article, to a greater or less degree, was made from refuse 
and offal beef, less wholesome and less palatable, and, 
being less carefully canned and sealed, often fermented; 
whereas every pound of the Cleveland beef represented 
ten pounds of clean, sweet, marketable beef, as sold by 
the quarter, including bone of course — each pound, there- 
fore, representing eight pounds of muscle of beef — and not 
a can of our beef spoiled on our hands during the last two 
years of its manufacture. 



PART III 



SPECIAL RELIEF DEPARTMENT 



OHAPTEK I. 



I35^TI^OX)TJCJTIOiT 



0RIGI2S' AXD ORGAXIZATIO]S^ OF THE DEPARTMEifT OF 
SPECIAL RELIEF. 

Any one who reads tlie record of any part of the diver- 
sified work of the Sanitary Commission, or a description of 
the somewhat complicated macliineiy by wliich this work 
was done, will very likely be pnzzled by the new terms 
with which he meets, and, fi*om their frequent recurrence, 
will perhaps receive the impression that they have been 
unnecessarily multiplied, and that the work they represent 
in its refinement of classification must have been artificial 
and even finical. Such an impression would be veiy far 
from the truth, for no one who took part in, or even 
\vitnessed the operations of the (Jommission, will have 
failed to learn that its work, from first to last, was real and 
grave and earnest, and ofttimes as sad as that of the war 
spiiit itself. Probably no other great enterprise since the 
world began was so little man's coinage and creation. 
From its very inception it exhibited two striking features — 
vigor of growth and flexibility. It is true that many strong 
and earnest men were constantly employed for years in 
directing this great work. But this direction consisted for 
the most part in keeping it in and up with the current 
of events. If it is true that the founders of the Sanitary 
Commission had little to guide them in the experience of 
others elsewhere, it is also true that they were trammeled 
by no precedents, and were restricted by no rules that 
]U'evented tliem from adopting, in all times and under all 



33;^ SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — ^VESTEEX DEPARTMENT. 

circumstances, at once just those measures which the best 
interests of the country and the cause of humanity seemed 
to require. Starting out witli simply tlie knowledge that 
the life of the nation Avas in danger, that it must be saved 
by war, and a war of such dimensions as would absorb the 
entire energies of the country : and further, that war is 
always and everywhere cruel, and tliat our military organi- 
zation was totally inadequate for tlie emergency, the leaders 
in the Sanitary movement began their work as a commis- 
sion of inquiry and advice. The duty to be performed. 
in fulfilling this mission, constituted the Department of 
Inspection and Report, by which the real condition of the 
army, down to every regiment, company and hospital, were 
accurately learned and at frequent int(^ivals fully reported. 
By the same agency a vast deal of good was done in giving 
to officers and men, new to military life, a better acquaint- 
ance with their duties and a knowledge of the dangers that 
threatened them from AAithin their own organization. 

Almost immediately the want of material sup]ilies 
asserted itself so strongly that vigorous, systematic, far- 
reaching, and, as it proved, long-continuing measures were 
required to meet the great and growing evil. The efforts 
to supply simjily the demand upon us. in this direction. 
formed our Supply Department, of which some description 
has already been given. Because the want of material 
supplies was almost universal, we called this department 
of our work the Department of General Relief. 

In the progress of events, and early in the history of 
the war, many unexpected and, as we at first supposed, 
exceptional cases claimed our symx)atliy and effort, Avhile 
suffering from one or another of tlie tliousand hardships or 
misfortunes wliich are the legitimate fruit of every system 
coined l)y finite and imperfect men. In civil life all laws 
beai- lUK^qually on those the}' control. In military life this 



FIRST SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 333 

is more conspicuously true. Tlie best of laws framed for 
the mass will operate liarslily on many an individual. 
With narrow and vicious regulations, administered, as they 
too often were, by ignorant and brutal men, the cases to 
which I have referred were multiplied in number and 
aggravated in severity'. From effort to meet these cases 
grew up an organization more extensive and important than 
it was at first thought possible the Sanitary Commission in 
all its work would become. This, in the classification of our 
w^ork, w^e called the Department of Special Relief, and 
before the close of the war it embraced a great series of 
Homes, Lodges, and Feeding Stations, Hospital Trains, Hos- 
pital Boats, the Hospital Directory and Hospital Visitors, 
a Free Pension and Pay Agency, and an Ageiic}^ for the 
Employment of Discharged Soldiers. A brief revieAv of the 
group of enterprises included in this Department Avill be 
found in the following pages. Among the agencies here 
noticed, undoubtedly the most important one was that of 
the Home. This w^as the name given to a receptacle or 
asylum opened to those of whom the care had been assumed 
by the Government ; and yet this care and supervision 
failed often w^heii most mdispensable. 

The first of our series of Homes was established at 
Washington by Mr. Frederick X. Knapp, who may be 
considered the founder of our Special Relief Department, 
for he not only initiated and performed the best w^ork done 
in the Department, but leavened and inspired the whole 
with that warm-hearted Christian sympathy which is so 
conspicuous in his individual character. On the 9th of 
August, 1861, Mr. Knapp found in the cars, at the railroad 
station in Washington, thirty-six men of an Indiana regi- 
ment, apparently abandoned by their comrades, who had 
moved out to their camp. These men were so utterly 
unprovided for that, during twenty-four liours, they liad 



334 SAXITAKY COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPARTMEXT. 

liad notliiug to eat but a few crackers. Mr. Kiiapp procured 
for tliem, from a boarding-house near bv. two pailfuls of 
tea. and soft bread and butter, with which he refreshed and 
made comfortable these exhausted men until their suro-eon, 
who had been absent many hours, striving in vain to find 
some means of removing them to a hospital, returned. 
Thus began the Sanitary Commission s work of Special 
Relief, and thus were given the first of the four million five 
hundred thousand meals provided by it. during the war, 
for sick and hungry soldiers. The next day more than 
thirty men of another regiment, who had dropped down 
from sheer exhaustion during a forced march, were found 
lying near the station. There was no one to care for them, 
for their regiments had passed on. They were, of course, 
weak and hungry; and fortunately for them, they were 
found out and cared for by the same good Samaritan, whose 
name has been mentioned above. 

Such instances occurred every day. Every variety of 
suffering which can be endured by a sick stranger in a 
strange place, without money and Avithout friends, was 
undergone by many of the most heroic men who went forth 
to fight our battles in the early days of tlie war. whose 
strength was not equal to their courage. 

It became necessary, of course, for the humane treatment 
of these men, most of whom wei'e nearly exhausted from 
the fatigue of tlie journey, and were suffering from no 
disease which a rest of a few days and proper food would 
not cure, that they should be at least provided with beds 
and proper attendance. At first, the Commission was per- 
mitted to afford them this relief in a corner of a building 
near the Station known as the "Cane Factory,'- but in a 
few days its Agents w^ere driven out of this place by the 
Provost Marshal, who. witli equal stupidity and inhu- 
manity, insistf^d that tlie anangements there made were 



BELIEF DUTIES. 335 

converting the building intended merely for tlie reception 
of troops into a hospital. Thus baffled br a want of 
co-operation on the part of the authorities, a house in the 
neighborhood of the Station was secured by the Commis- 
sion, and completely fitted up for its benevolent purpose. 
This house was appropriately called the Soldiers' Home. 
It was the head-quarters of the Special Relief Service at 
Washington, and as its plans became gradually enlarged 
to meet the new wants arising in the progress of the war, it 
extended a form of relief to the needy which may be classi- 
iied under ten distinct heads. Its objects were. 

J^f'rst. To supply to the sick men of the regiments 
arriving such medicines, food, and care as it Avas impossi- 
ble for them to receive, in the midst of the confusion and 
with the lack of facilities, from theii' own officers. The men 
to be thus aided are those wly3 are not so sick as to have a 
claim upon a general hospital, and yet need immediate care 
to guard them against serious sickness. 

^eooiul. To furnish suitable food, lodging, care and assis- 
tance to men who are honorably discharged from service, 
sent from general hospitals or from their regiments, but 
who are often delaj^ed a day or more in the city before they 
obtain their papers and pay. 

Tfdrcl. To communicate with distant regiments in behalf 
of discharged men, whose certificates of disability, or 
descriptive lists on which to draw their pay, prove to be 
defective — the invalid soldiers meantime being cared for, 
and not exposed to the fatigue and risk of going in person 
to their regiments to have their papers corrected. 

Fovrtli. To act as the unpaid agents or attorneys of dis- 
charged soldiers who are too feeble or too utterly disabled 
to present their own claims at the paymaster s. 

Flftli. To look into the condition of discharged men who 
assume to be without means to pay the expense of going 



336 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

to their homes ; and to furnish tlie necessary means, where 
we find the man is true and the need real. 

Sixth. To secure to disabled soldiers railroad tickets, at 
reduced rates, and, through an agent at the railroad station, 
see that these men are not robbed, or imposed upon by 
sharpers. 

Seventh. To see that all men who are discharged and 
paid off do at once leave the city for their homes ; or, in 
cases where they have been induced by evil companions to 
remain behind, to endeavor to rescue them, and see them 
started with through tickets to their own towns. 

Eightli. To make reasonably clean and comfortable, 
before they leave the city, such discharged men as are 
deficient in cleanliness and clothes. 

Nmtli. To be prepared to meet at once, with food or 
other aid, such immediate ne(.*essities as arise when sick 
men arrive in the city in hirge numbers from battle fields or 
distant hospitals. 

Ten til. To keep a Avatchful eye upon all soldiers who 
are out of hospitals, yet not in service; and give informa- 
tion to the proper authorities of such soldiers as seem 
endeavoring to avoid duty oi* to desert from the ranks. 

Encouraged b}' the great success of the Soldiers' Home 
and its appended Lodges at Washington, Homes and 
Lodges were established b}^ the Commission in Boston, 
Hartford, New Yoi'k, Philadelphia, and other places at the 
East, wliile in tlie Westei'u T)e]^artment we had at one time 
thirteen of these institutions, k)cated at Bufialo, Cleveland, 
Detroit, Columluis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Jeffer- 
soiivillc. New AlbauA', Paducah, Caii'O, Memphis, and 
('am]) Nelson, K \ . l)es('ri])tions, more or less (complete, 
of all these institutions are given herewith, but 1 have 
to i-egret that in most instances these descriptions are 
exceed inuly iiKi(le(iiiate and nnsatisfactoi-y. 



CHAPTEK II. 



s o Xj ID I :e IRS' nonv^E, 

C L E V E L A ISri) , . 

The liistoiy of tlie Soldiers' Home at Cleveland consti- 
tutes one of the brightest pages, not only in the records of 
the Society by which it was created and maintained, bnt of 
the entire work of the Sanitary Commission at the West. 

Thongh from its position, so far from the seat of war, 
Cleveland was never thronged with soldiers, as were Cin- 
cinnati, Louisville, JSTashville, and Cairo, and no such 
crowds of sick, w^ounded, furloughed and discharged men 
claimed the sympathies of the benevolent and the aid of 
the Sanitary Commission; yet, as no part of our great 
country escaped the influence of the war, or failed to 
share the calamities it entailed during the years of its 
continuance, many thousand soldiers were quartered in 
camps established at Cleveland, and some hundreds of 
thousands passed through the city. Of these, a consid- 
erable percentage suffered from the evils which war — 
everywhere and always cruel — inflicts both on victors 
and vanquished; which military regulation could not 
remedy, and which it was the province of the Sanitary 
Commission as far as possible to mitigate. 

Fortunately for the soldier, on arriving at Cleveland he 
found himself surrounded by an intelligent, warm-hearted 
and patriotic people, and was met by the representa- 
tives of a Society whose name was known and blessed in 
every camp and hospital throughout the West, and whose 

22 



338 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

example lias been quoted as a model of benevolent c^ttbrt in 
all parts of the loyal North — tlie Soldiers' Aid Society of 
Northern Ohio — the Cleveland Branch of the Tnited States 
Sanitary Commission. 

From the organization of the Soldiers' Aid Society, in 
April, 1861, until November of the same year, the cases 
presented f(U' special relief were comparatively few, and 
comprised three classes — the families of the volunteers 
enlisted in Cleveland ; the soldiers in camj), who were 
furnished from the Aid Rooms with clothing-, stationery 
and various trilling articles ; and the sick men wdio, unable 
to proceed with their regiments, in the absence of all hos- 
pital accommodations fell to the charge of the Society, and 
were assigned to various hotels and boarding houses. The 
formation of committees in all the waids of the city relieved 
the Society from the care of soldiers' families. But the 
number of ' sick and destitute soldiers seeming to increase, 
while the arrangements for their care were unsatisfactory, 
on the nth of November a meeting was held by the gentle- 
men composing the Cleveland Branch of the Sanitary Com- 
mission, to organize some better system of relief. A com- 
mittee was appointed, in connection with the officers of tlie 
Aid Society, to obtain a portion of the Marine Hospital for 
the temporary use of sick soldiers. On application to the 
Secretar}^ of the Treasury, the collector of the port was 
authorized to assign to the Sanitary Commission a certain 
part of the building, on their giving the ordinary security 
against injury to it. The faculty of the Medical College 
offei-ed to attend the patients ; the steward of the Hospital 
was contracted with to supply the necessary food ; and foi- 
the payment of tins, as well as othei- contingent expenses, 
the Sanitaiy Commission became responsible. The Aid 
Society furnished almost the entire outfit from its stoi-es ; 
also, a large quantity of delicacies for the sick, and 



soldiers' home — CLEVELAI^D, 0. 339 

surgeon' s supplies. The total number received, at wliat was 
then called the Army Department of the Marine Hospital, 
was eighteen, consisting exclusively of very sick men, who 
required great attention, and who were generally members 
of regiments in camp near the city. Two deaths occurred 
here. 

In April, 1862, after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, it 
was suggested that some more convenient accommodations 
should be provided for the large number of wounded 
brought up the river on the Sanitary Commission hos- 
pital boats. A room in the Union Depot was procured 
by the officers of the Aid Society, from the Cleveland, 
Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad Company ; fitted up 
with a portion of the furniture from the Marine Hospital, 
the latter being found too distant from the railroad depot ; 
additional articles were contributed by city merchants, and 
the necessary bedding, clothing, etc., from the Aid Rooms. 
A system of tickets, redeemable every month, procured 
meals at the dining hall in the depot, and a steward was 
employed to attend the trains, take charge of the sick, and 
give out the meal tickets. The State Agent furnished trans- 
portation to Ohio men; and from the railroad officials 
numerous favors were obtained for soldiers from other 
States requiring assistance. In this little Depot Hospital' s 
limited quarters only two classes could be received; the 
sick, for whom its comfort was specially designed — and 
who were supplied with nourishing food, clothing and 
medical attendance — and the well soldiers, on furlough 
or discharged, who simply received food, transportation 
and occasional clothing. A few names of the families of 
soldiers, in charge of a sick son or brother, appear on the 
records. After the establishment of a military general hos- 
pital at Camp Cleveland, the furloughed men, if seriously 
ill, were removed thither, and the sick discharged soldiers 



340 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTZRX DEPARTMENT. 

sent to LiiiieT Ixiardiiig places, and provided with a nurse at 
the expense of tlie Societ}". All cases reqiiii'ing fmtlier 
assistance, or not coming under general rules, were referred 
to the Aid Rooms, and daily visits, especiallv in cases of 
sickness, were made by the officers of the Society to the 
Depot Hospital. 

In August, 1863, tlie Eastern regiments on dnty in the 
lower Mississippi passed throttgh Cleveland rn route for 
theu' camps, to be mustered out. A generous and enthu- 
siastic reception was given them In^ tlie united efforts of 
many of the citizens of Cleveland and of tlie Aid Society. 
The entertainments were prepared on lonu' tables running 
the entiiv length of the depot, and supplied with every 
variety of tempting food. The sick, of whom a large 
number accompanied each regiment, occupied the little 
hospital, and received the utmost care, with all tlii^ luxu- 
ries their condition would alloAv. Those unable to bear 
still further removal were taken to the lujspital at Camp 
Cleveland, and to the Aid Society fell the charge of corre- 
sponding with the fiiends of these men. and the care of the 
remains and effects of those who died. 

This phase of special relief in the home tield is descril:>ed 
in the following extracts from letters wiitt^-n at that time 
from the Cleveland Aid Rooms: 

Cleveland. August 15. 1S63. 
Du. .7. S. Newberuy, 

Secretary Western Department U.S. Sanitary Commission, Louisvilh : 

Deak Sir — At the end of a busy and wearisome day, I have time for only a 
word before the mail closes. We have had our hearts and our hands full in the 
last twenty-four hours, and many of our ladies have had their first sight of the 
dreadful effects of war. 

Yesterday afternoon, at four o'clock, the long expected regiment (4th Massa- 
chusetts) arrived. There were nearly a hundred sick, and all in a ver>- worn 
condition. The preparations so long made proved ample, and after two hours' 
merciful work among the hospital cars, and a full feast set out for the well, the 
ladies had the satisfaction of sending the brave boys on their way in a much 
better condition than that in which they came to us. 

Another regiment was telegraphed to be here in two ho\irs from the departure 
<if the first, and vow may imagin*^ the commoTion into which the wluile town wa< 



SOLDIERS* H()3I£ — CLETEIAXD. 0. 341 

thrown: inesseiiirers sent everywhere to notify the housekeepers, and to hasten 
their gifts, and such excitement and hurry of preparation at the depot 1 Cleveland 
people, you know, are equal to any good work, and so. at eight o'clock, when the 
28th Maine came in, there was an abundant meal spread for them, and a fully 
organized committee of ladies to attend the sick. The hospital cars, five in num- 
ber, were crowded with bad cases. All r)ur ladies were down there, and worked 
like heroines. 

At ten o'clock at night we left the depot, only to go home to make fresh 
arrangements to meet a third regiment, at five o'clock this morning. 

This last regiment, the 4Tth Massachusetts, has occupied us all the morning of 
this beautiful Sabbath, and our hearts have been sorely tried by the dreadful state 
in which the men were found. We had very good provision for their reception. 
Believing cleanliness next to godliness, we organized a "new department." and set 
long tables at the entrance of the depot, and upon them put rows of tin wash 
basins, with a cake of soap and a towel at each, and had plenty of fresh water 
ready. Such a splashing and scrubbing and cheering never was I I believe this 
■was the most welcome part of the programme. From their bath the soldiers 
passed on to a really bountiful breakfast — soft bread and butter, cold meat, 
pickles, herring and salmon, plenty of onions and cucumbers, tomatoes and apples, 
coffee and tea. So the well men were abundantly fed. Meantime the ladies carried 
hand basins and towels into the hospital cars. Each sick man was refreshed by 
having his face and hands bathed, and then the tea, coffee, warm gruel, bread and 
jelly, dried beef, sponge cake, egg and wine and stimulants, were dispensed with 
lavish hand. One very badly wounded man and the surgeon, Avho was very ill 
indeed, were carried at once into our little hospital and carefully tended. The 
surgeon remained, and 3Ir. Bingham has taken him to his oAvn house. Four sick 
men were sent to Camp Cleveland — hospital — four also of the Maine regiment, 
last night. 

A sad scene, indeed, was the death of one poor fellow, this morning, in our 
little hospital. He was sinking fast when the train came in. Everything was done 
for him that kindness or experience could suggest, but he was too far gone with 
the exhaustion following a lung fever, and died almost in sight of his home and 
family. Poor fellow I how hard he tried to speak and send some word home I He 
was a splendid soldier, they said, and when the men of his company filed sadly in 
to look at his dead face, and some even kissed his forehead and dropped their 
tears upon it, we knew they felt it hard to leave their comrade, and harder yet it 
seemed to frame the sad story into words that his waiting friends at home might 
hear. We have taken every care of the body, and it is to be forwarded to-morrow 
by express. 

This last regiment was peculiarly needj". It had passed every important point 
in the night till now. and this half day in Cleveland was such a blessing to the 
poor fellows I They numbered about seven hundred, with one hundred, at least, 
seriously sick, and nearly all. indeed, ailing somewhat, and .just from the trenches 
at Port Hudson. 

August -n. 

I sent you on Sunday a hurried sketch of our new duties — feeding the passing 
regiments— and now must give you an equally hasty review of what has been done 
this week — which to us has seemed long and eventful, and has turned quiet little 
Cleveland into a busy town, and made Bank street and the depot the scene of a great 
deal of benevolent and good-natured confusion at all hours of the day and niglit. 



3-42 SAXITARY COMMISSIO>n" — AVESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

>[()iiday niornins: we M-ere occupied in making arrangements for sending on the 
body of poor Thayer, of whose death I wrote you. At night it Avent, and with it 
we sent some comforting words to his wife and friends, which I hope softened 
somewhat their great sorrow. 

All day Tuesday we were torn with rumors about the next regiment. The cars 
broke down, and various detentions kept the train till eight o'clock in the evening. 
Then the 28th Connecticut, a small regiment — five hundred perhaps — arrived ; so 
worn and weary the men looked, and straggled so painfully into the depot that it 
touched every heart— and you may believe our ladies were not slow in offering the 
comforts contained in their generous baskets. 

The colonel had gone home by sea, sick. The lieutenant colonel, two surgeons, 
many line officers, ward masters, etc., were dead, and the regiment was in charge 
of the major. The sick had been brought up in care of the second assistant 
surgeon, a mere boj^ in appearance, but a miracle of faithfulness, kindness and 
energy. This surgeon had telegraphed his desire to leave five men in hospital here, 
and we had an omnibus ready. The men were unwilling to stop at first, even 
feigned sleep, and hid themselves under their blankets, but at the persuasions of 
some of our ladies, accompanied by a taste and smell of the appetizing gruel, 
broth, blackberry cordial, etc., they began to put out their heads wistfully, and 
finally nineteen of them clamored to stay, and were left. The ladies promised to 
go and see them in hospital next day, and so they did. Sara and Nelly rode over 
to inquire after them ; found them as comfortable and even happy as sick men 
could possibly be. 

Next day we had a little breathing time, and then toward night were electri- 
fied by the news that two more large regiments were coming on from Indianapolis, 
with still two more on the way from Cairo. All Thursday the preparations were 
making, and indeed I cannot tell you how generously our citizens met this fresh 
call. It reminded one of the early days of the war, when each merchant seemed 
to vie with his neighbor in his lavish gifts of everything his store afforded. 
Indeed, it was almost impossible for us to Imy anything here. It seemed a mere farce 
to offer payment, everything Avas so freely given to this good cause. We bought 
dishes enough to serve the whole regiment at once, and towards night you would 
have been amused to see our lawyers, merchants and railroad men spreading 
tables, slicing onions, bottling wine, or cutting sandwiches. We had ample Avashing 
arrangements, too— a long roAv of basins tAvice down the depot, and such a splash- 
ing, Avhen at seven o'clock the 49th Massachusetts, seven hundred and seventeen 
strong, came in!— tired, dusty and so hungry; but there was enough for all, and 
the sick were attended in the cars, as before. 

The surgeon was exceedingly careful of his men ; kncAv at once avIio Avas to 
stay, and we had beds carried out of our little room to the side of the car. Seven 
men Avere thus brought into the Home. The ladies supplied them with stimulants, 
and at eight o'clock they Avere ready to go over to the hospital. One poor felloAv 
fainted before the omnibus left. He AA'as vei-y, very sick. They brought him back 
api)arently dying, bnt thanks to the niotlicrly cai-e he received, animation Avas 
restored. 

The men of this regiment expressed the greatest delight at being among their 
friends again. The colonel and lieutenant colonel had been disabled— the major Avas 
in charge. It was a fine regiment. 

•lust before the train moved off. we discovered in one car a black bundle — 
hlaiik<'ts. as we then Ihoiiglil jiilcd away in a dark coniei-, but tlic licaj) liaving, in 



soldiers' home — CLEVELAND, 0. 343 

an unguarded moment, betrayed animation, some adventurous woman investigated 
tlie mystery, and brouglit to view the woolly heads and wild eyes of two contra- 
bands, who had not dared to venture out for fear of being stolen back South. 
They were re-assured, of course, and dragged out just in time to get a morsel of 
supper, for which they showed surprising appetite. It required a great deal of 
argument, however, to convince them that they were in a free country. 

Our duties with this regiment were not over till near midnight. This morning, 
of course, we were somewhat footsore, and were conscious of having heads — from 
the fact that there was an ache somewhere above our shoulders. Eight o'clock 
came, and with it the startling telegram : " 48th Massachusetts— seven hundred men — 
very hungry — had nothing at Indianapolis — can we get breakfast at Cleveland?" 
Only two hours, and not only a feast to be provided, but the debris of last night's 
entertainment to be cleared away I Seven hundred plates to wash, etc., etc. — a 
small matter to some of our splendidly organized subsistence committees, but a 
bug-bear indeed to raw hands, as Ave were. 

It was done, however, and at ten o'clock the hungry regiment had really a 
sumptuous repast spread, while the thirty sick men were attended by the ladies, 
who first gave a refreshing draught, then the luxury of a dip into the bright tin 
basin, with plenty of soap ; and afterward, turned out of the exhaustless tin 
cauldrons, hot broth, gruel, and all manner of sick diet. Two very sick men have 
been left. They were taken over to the hospital this afternoon. 

And now here we are, Friday night, with two big, famished, expectant regi- 
ments thundering toward us, like relentless fate— the 53d Massachusetts saving its 
appetite, perforce, for breakfast here to-morrow morning at nine o'clock ; the 23d 
Connecticut equally certain of a dinner or supper some time later. And they shall 
not be disappointed, brave fellows' It does the hearts of all our people good to 
give, and to cook, and to carve for these returning men. We might almost wish, 
for the cause of our country, that we had had such work to do every week since 
Southern sympathizers began to show their heads among us ! 

Do not think I mean to boast of what we have done, in the hurried sketch of 
our work which I have given you. Nothing of the kind is true. I only wish you 
to know that our citizens have their full share of the patriotism and humanity of 
which other cities nearer the seat of war have given such beautiful illustrations. 

Ill September, 1863, several large detacliments of con- 
valescents passed tliroiigli Cleveland from the hospitals m 
tlie Soutli-west, all needing the temporary care of some 
Sanitary Commission institution ; and the evident inability 
of the existing quarters to accommodate snch numbers, 
and the probability of the rapid increase of this class of 
applicants, developed the plan of a Soldiers' Home which 
liad been previousl}' discussed. The Depot Hospital, 
although all that the tinances of the Aid Society anthor- 
ized at that time, was imperfect in many respects besides 
its limited dimensions. Tt was impossible to exercise any 



344 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTEEX DEPARTMEXT. 

influence or restraint upon its inmates ; systematic visiting 
was prevented by tlie situation of tlie hospital, and tlie 
home element, which renders such institutions attractive 
and beneflcial. was entirely wanting. 

A special contribution was made of funds to erect a 
building — the first appeal dii'ectly made for any ]3nrpose 
by the Aid Society — and seventeen liundred dollars were 
raised at once : the amount being swelled by subsequent 
contributions to near two thousand dollars. A site was 
granted by the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Rail- 
road Company, on the pier where the Tnion Depot then 
stood, and the aTatuitous services of a builder of the citv. 
Mr. Crawford, were kindly ofi<ered to put up the building. 
A structure, two hundred feet by twenty-five, was at once 
erected on the plan of the Louisville Home: completed 
and occupied December 12tli, 1863. The furniture of the 
Depot Room was transferred thither, and a few additional 
articles contributed, but very little was purchased until 
after the Sanitary Fair. In July. 1864. very considerable 
changes Avere made in the internal arrangements, and 
many articles of comfort added to the establishment. 
In March. 1865. by means of the proceeds of some tableau 
exhibitions given for the beneflt of the Home, a new ward, 
thirty-flve feet long, was added to the building; and in 
May an extension was made to the dining room -^ one 
liundred and twenty feet long — capable, together with the 
older part, of seating iive hundred men. 

The Cleveland Soldiers' Home was entirely supported 
by voluntary contributions, either made directly for this 
purpose or given for the general uses of the Society. 
Unlike most other Homes, in Avhicli the subsistence of 
the inmates was mainly derived from rations drawn from 
tlie Government, it received no aid wliatevi^- from the 
GeneiMl or State Govein.nient. Tlir Binncli Societies in 



soldiers' home — CLEYELAXD, 0. 345 

Nortlierii Oliio contributed mam' luxuries for the table; 
green vegetables, home-made bread and cake, and large 
quantities of bread and clieese. The fare at the Home 
was always varied, and good of its kind : the ordinary 
dinner consisting of meat, vegetables, bread, butter, tea, 
coffee, cheese, stewed fruit, and pies or puddings. 

The entire management of the institution remained in 
the hands of the Soldiers' Aid Society, all ju^rchases being 
made and bills paid by its officers: the superintendent, 
acting under orders fi^om the Society, was not allowed to 
refuse admittance to any soldier, even without papers, 
unless obviously an impostor. His present wants were 
attended to, and the case referred to the Aid Society for 
final verdict. 

A card from auv officer of the Society was also required 
to prolong a soldier s stay at the Home ; and, except in 
cases of drunkenness or bad conduct, the superintendent 
was not at liberty to dismiss any man. One ladv, as a 
rule, remained at the Home from nine o' clock in the morn- 
ing to one o'clock in the afternoon of each day. 

The Home was made in every way as attractive and 
cheerful as possible, and the presence of many home- 
like objects no doubt exerted a refining influence upon 
the soldiers. 

From the opening of the Home until the spring of 
I860, it entertained, as the card on its door read, sick 
and wounded soldiers, discharged men awaiting pension 
and back pay. and furloughed soldiers without money. 
To this may be added the usual share of refugees, Govern- 
ment employes, and, occasionally, a soldier s family. 

The summer of 1864 brought an unusual number of 
wounded from the battles in the Eastern and AVestern 
Departments, also many ''one hundred days men,'' and, 
among botli. numerous cases which proved very serious 



346 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

and were long continued. i\.side from the ordinary tem- 
porary inmates, there were always some chronic cases of 
discharged men who had no other home, and fell therefore 
to the charge of the Sanitary Commission. The routine 
was little varied until the spring of I860, when the order 
to remove convalescent soldiers to the hospitals of their 
own States was given. Numerous large detachments of 
this class were entertained at the Home. All the regiments 
returning from the held, and passing througli Cleveland, 
were fed there. They consisted of troojjs from Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York 
and New Hampshire. The Home also received the sick of 
the regiments assigned to Camp Cleveland, and those of all 
others unable to proceed on their journey. These men, 
under the charge of an excellent nurse, were supplied with 
every comfort and received constant medical aid; all the city 
physicians volunteering their service — one. Dr. C. A. Terry, 
having paid three or foui' hundred gi'atuitous visits to the 
sick. Clothing and trans])ortation were provided when 
required. 

When deaths occuiied at the Home, ])]'oper fmu^ial 
services were held, under charge of the Aid Society ; the 
friends were promptly communicated with, and many sub- 
sequent offices performed, in the forwarding of the i-emains 
and care of the effects. In cases of serious illness, the 
friends of a soldier were always sent foi-, and allowed to 
remain until able to remove him to his home. 

Dischai'ged men, and especially the disabled among 
them, were allowed a short sojourn at the Home until 
suitable employment could be found for them. This class 
f'oiined, gi-adually, a large proportion of the inmates of th(^ 
institution. Soldiers awaiting pay oi' tlie tii'st installments 
of pension were also found at the Home, and generally were 
ni:i(l<' useful in the household, in I'cturn for their boai'd. 



soldiers' home — CLEVELAND, O. 347 

Two companies of the Yeteran Reserve Corps were, at 
different times, stationed at the Union Depot and detailed 
for service at the Home. 

In October, 1866, a permanent Soldiers' Home for disa- 
bled soldiers was opened at Colnmbns, Ohio, and, until an 
appropriation could be obtained from the Legislature, the 
support of the institution depended upon the Cincinnati 
and Cleveland Branches of the Sanitary Commission. The 
Soldiers' Aid Society of Cleveland gave five thousand dol- 
lars for this purpose, and subsequently a portion of the 
furniture of the Home, as it was gradually superseded by 
the Columbus institution. All the inmates were trans- 
ferred thither, and in January, 1866, the Cleveland Home 
was closed, with the exception of a lodging and reading- 
room, kept open for the soldiers on furlough from the Texas 
army and applicants for admission to the State Home. 
These latter were always furnished with transportation to 
Columbus, and the most feeble sent under care of the Home 
steward. 

On the 1st of June, 1866, the Home was formally closed ; 
any subjects for special relief presenting themselves since, 
having been attended to at the rooms of the Aid Society. 

The following table gives a numerical exhibit of the 
Special Relief work done by the Cleveland Branch, at the 
Aid Rooms or at the Soldiers' Home, so far as it can be so 
represented : 

Lodgings 80,001 

Meals at Soldiers' Home . i»l,665 

Meals at Dining Halls and Boarding Houses '^0,i(i2 

Total Number of Meals ]l:.M27 

Registered at the Home ."vj,435 

Registered at Aid Rooms 7,163 

Total Number Registered ()0,598 

Number of Cases filed througii Claim Agency 1,890 

Number of Applications tlirough Employment Agency 111 

Transportation furnislied to... 1,514 

Cash Expended _ _ 4^;3o,r)3tJ iHi 

CLASSIFICATION. 

Maine 2,121 

New Hampshire -ilf) 

Vermont 45fi 



3-1:8 SAXITARY COMMISSLOX — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Massachusetts i],32ii 

Rhode Island 16 

Connecticut 532 

New York i,iM 

New Jersey 3(5 

Pennsvl vail i<i 520 

Maryland and Virj,ania : 28 

Ohio ■ 12,439 

Michigan 9,421 

Illinois and Indiana . 1 ,440 

Wisconsin 5,542 

Kentucky and Tennessee 171 

Iowa and California 327 

Texas and Nebraska 12 

Minnesota 243 

Louisiana and Missouri 143 

Colored 64fi 

Regulars 2,751 

Veteran Reserves 1,843 

Deserters and Refugees 177 

Regiments Unrecorded 12,057 

The subjoined graphic sketch of one among nmny similar 
scenes at the Cleveland Soldiers' Home, is taken from Part 
II of the lately pnblislied history of the Cleveland Branch : 

ENTERTAINING A B R I (J A D E . 

Tlie brigade consisting of the 37tli and 38tli Wisconsin and 
27th Michigan regiments, whose arrival had ah day been }30st23oned 
from one hour to the next, it was at length definitely settled would 
be at Cleveland at twelve o'clock, midnight ; so there was no sleep 
to be had, except in stolen snatches, sitting upright in the hardest 
of chairs, with ears on the alert to catch the first distant whistle of 
the expected train. Of course no one at first intended to be sleepy. 
In the earlier part of the evening all found enough to do in the 
manifold preparations for thirteen hundred men. The ladies cut 
bushels of bread, cake and pies in the upper kitchen, and marshaled 
and assisted their temporary command of Veteran Eeserves in the 
task of setting the tables in great and small dining rooms. Veteran 
Eeserves were omnipresent — staggering under the weight of trays 
of plates and dishes, or carrying great baskets of edibles, to be 
distributed on the long rows of tables. On the disposition of this 
force the commanding officers prided themselves not a little — all 
the lame men sat at the tables assisting in cutting the bread and 
cake, wliicli the o^?r^armed men built up into tasteful monuments 
on tlie designated plates, and those so unfortunate as to possess 
])otli arms and legs Avere expected to be generally useful. Certain 
of the number, as well as the Home employes, had a definite post 
assigned to each. One ])r('f:ided over the coffee — no slight task 



soldiers' home — CLEVELAND, 0. 349 

where six great caskfuls are required— another superintended the 
slicing of the beef from the cauldrons, and others still the boiling 
of potatoes by the barrel, while the evil genius of a third unhappy 
group condemned them to peel innumerable little green onions. 
Every one was busy and animated, even to the small boys who, 
having nothing else to do, stimulated the energy of the working- 
force by divers false alarms brought in from the outer darkness. 
The guard was posted and dropped calmly to sleep; the tables were 
finally surveyed and the most anxious scrutiny employed to discover 
possible flaws in quantity or quality ; also the corps de reserve of 
edibles, mountain high, was pronounced sufficient to feed the Army 
of the Cumberland. Then the ladies in the matron's room and the 
soldiers in the great kitchen formed into groups, laughed, chatted, 
grew drowsy, and finally fell asleep, and for two hours nothing was 
heard but the waves of Lake Erie dashing up against the pier 
beneath the Soldiers' Home. 

Suddenly, about two o'clock in the morning, a faint whistle — the 
very ghost of a sound — changed the silent scene in a moment into 
one of the most active life. Gas lights blazed up all over the house, 
the fumes of coffee rose on the air, and for the fifteen minutes 
before the soldiers actually arrived, every one needed ten pairs of 
hands and feet. An eager crowd, armed with plates, surrounded 
the steaming boilers of potatoes, while a similar group, provided 
with tin pails and kettles, assailed and aggravated the presiding 
genius at the coffee casks. The corps detailed for dut}^ at the 
long rows of wash basins hastened to its post, and soon lanterns 
were shining along the depot walls to light up the festive prepara- 
tions. At this juncture the superintendent, assuming his lantern 
and badge of office, and accompanied by the steward and a detach- 
ment to attend the sick of the brigade, sallied forth to meet the 
train. It was hardly necessary to tell the soldiers what was in store 
for them. Every man knew what the dispatch ran forward to say 
that afternoon, and every eye was watching the long low building 
with its many brilliant window^s — the only bright spot in the 
blackness of two o'clock in the morning. So the train was speedily 
emptied, the men fell into ranks, the band struck up a lively tune, 
and the line of march was taken up for the Soldiers' Home. Here 
they halted, stacked arms, and the commanding officer informed 
the men that, before partaking of the supper provided by the 



350 SANITARY COM.MISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

patriotic ladies of Cleveland, an opportunity would be given them 
to wasli their faces and hands. On this arose a tumultuous hurrah I 
and all charged pell mell on the line of tin basins, which for ten 
miuutes was a scene of wildest confusion. The water plashed, faces 
shone, pocket combs were circulated, and the result was a general 
and pervading atmosphere of soap and Avater. Even with this 
civilizing influence, the brown rugged ranks of veterans looked 
formidable enough in the half light, though drawn up for a peace- 
ful attack. 

The few moments" grace thus obtained was precious indeed to 
the busy throng within the Home, who congratulated each other 
that the divided train brought only a portion of the number as a 
first detachment. Fortunately, by the time the toilets were com- 
pleted everything was ready — five hundred bowls of steaming 
cofi'ee were poured out, the dining room doors thrown open, and, 
marshaled by the superintendent, who temporarily ranked generals 
and colonels, in filed the hungry soldiers. That was a charming 
sight to their entertainers — such looks of eager anticipation settling 
into joyful certainty, as the eye took in the light, the flowers, the 
smiling welcome, the home-like look of the white covered tables, 
and, certainly not least, the variety and profusion of food heaped 
thereon. The first murmur of surprise and applause was a delightful 
sound, and not less so the subsequent clatter of knives and forks 
and the hum of many animated voices. The large dining hall was 
soon filled, next the smaller one. yet all were not seated. However, 
being earnestly assured that a second table would soon be prepared, 
though only half convinced that anything could equal that first 
glimpse of sumptuous fare, the remnant withdrew and gave their 
attention to the casks of iced water and lemonade standing beside 
the Home door. 

Within, the feast progressed with wonderful rapidity. An 
appointed number of ladies who, with a detail of Veteran Eeserves, 
were assigned for duty at the difierent tables, again and again filled 
the boAvls with hot cofi'ee and replenished the fast disappearing 
mountains of bread and meat. Occasionally, one would stumble 
over a small and Tinhappy yellow secesh dog, who accompanied his 
conquerors and refused to remain concealed under the table. The 
attendants likewise combined with their other duties the agreeable 
task of drinking in the expressions of approval which, as the feast 



SOLDIERS* HOME — CLEYELAXD. 0. 351 

slackened, fell from all lips; also of listening, with calm comdction, 
to the nniyersal decision of the infinite superiority of the supper 
under consideration to any ever provided by other corporation or 
town. 

In the smaller dinino- room, the officers of the brigade supped 
at a table only differing from the others in the non-essential 
priyilege accorded of putting the milk and sugar into each cup 
according to indiyidual taste. And the sick — those at least who 
could crawl to the table — had their appointed place and a beyy of 
anxious and eager attendants. Being excepted from the general 
uniformity, the appetite of each inyalid was consulted, and the 
kitchen stove soon covered with innumerable little messes, hastily 
prepared to suit a sick man's fancy, and served with sympathizing 
words and glances, A^'hich doubtless added greatly to the flavor. 
This was eyide.nt, for the patients generally showed a laudable 
inclination to eat through the bill of fare in addition to this invalid 
diet. There were also sick in the wards who claimed attention. 
Under the steward's charge, each man had received clean clothing 
and the necessary medicine or stimulants required by his condition, 
and was now at liberty to select anything which seemed tempting, 
within the pantry's limits. This food being prepared, was taken to 
the ward and arranged on tables, ornamented each with a bouquet 
stolen from the dining room. 

By this time the rooms were emptied of the last remaining 
guests, and not a moment could be lost in removing the fragments 
of the meal and restoring the tables to their first freshness, for the 
second train was at hand, and flattening their faces against the 
windows and pressing around the doors, were the disappointed ones 
of installment number one. The universal haste, half laughing, half 
desperate, was stimulated now by the sound of many voices and feet 
without, announcing the arrival of the remaining eight hundred 
and fifty soldiers. In the lower kitchen a dense white steam 
enveloped the heated and excited group of dish washers, preparing 
a third supply of plates and dishes, while down the dining room 
flowed a tide of men and women with trays of butter plates and 
towers of pies, which met an opposing phalanx of empty dishes, 
streaming up to the kitchen. At this juncture, the General com- 
manding the brigade proposed that the glee club of the Michigan 
regiment should favor the Cleveland ladies with a selection of 



35'^ SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

patriotic songs. So a tile of bright, half shy, half amused young 
soldiers took up their station against the wall, out of reach of 
impending collisions, and above the confusion of tongues, the 
sound of hurrying feet and the clashing of forks and dishes, rose 
the strains of ''Tramp, Tramp,"' the "Blue Cockade," and "Johnny 
Comes Marching Home," sung with spirit and sweetness. Every 
one found a moment to applaud the young musicians, in spite of 
the premonitory sounds without the closed door. 

At last, in a really brief space of time, the rooms were again 
thrown open and again tilled with a second throng, rather more 
hungry than their predecessors. Up to this point there had been 
no signs of failure in the pantry, but the experienced ones began to 
consider, with nervous dread, the probability of its enduring another 
attack from the four hundred remaining guests, who would cer- 
tainly come with trebly aggravated appetites. Four hundred tall, 
strong Wisconsin men were patiently awaiting their share in the 
good things so glowingly described by their comrades. There was 
no time to lose in these reflections. The tables were set the third 
time by weary people, whose hands moved less briskly and whose 
feet seemed strangely to adhere to the oft-traversed floor. Finally 
all was ready and ample in every respect, to the general surprise 
and delight. Xo such genuine expressions of grateful appreciation 
fell from any as from these AVisconsin soldiers, who, waiting in the 
chill summer twilight, must have doubted whether any one house 
could contain enough to feed thirteen hundred as hungry men. 
Before tlie last lingering guests had left the tables — including the 
numerous little negroes, whose pockets bore ample evidence to the 
sympathy of the attendant ladies — the bugle sounded its shrill call, 
and away they all scampered, hands and mouths full. Every one 
in the Home crowded to doors and windows to see the host depart. 
The flrst signs of morning were red in the east when the line 
formed again, and when all was ready the officer in command told 
tlie soldiers to give tlie Home and the ladies of the Sanitary Com- 
mission three cheers. There ensued a deafening shout, accompanied 
by innumerable individual greetings, the band struck up again, 
handkerchiefs were waved and the brigade moved off in a tumult 
of clieers, good wislies and good byes. Tlien the people at the 
doors went slowly in to breakfast and were electrified by the 
aiinoiinccmenl oi" anotlier regiment to be expected at noon. 



CHAPTER III. 



COLUMBUS, o . 

Many capitals of our Western States became, during 
the war, important military centers. Tliis was empliatically 
true of Indianapolis, Ind., and Columbus, O., at both of 
which points large numbers of soldiers congregated to be 
mustered in or out of service, to be equipped, paid off, etc. 
Both these cities, too, are on great thoroughfares, and 
during the period of the greatest military activity a constant 
tide of blue-coats was passing to and fro through them. 
As a natural consequence, the want which prompted the 
establishment of Soldiers' Homes at other points which 
have been mentioned was conspicuously felt at these. At 
Indianapolis the Soldiers' Home was constructed by the 
State authorities, which contributed vastly to the comfort of 
the Indiana soldiers. In Ohio no such provision was made 
by the State authorities, and the work of relief needed at 
Columbus devolved upon the Branch of the Sanitary Com- 
mission located there, which included a large number of the 
most intelligent and influential citizens. In the spring of 
1864 they secured a convenient location, just across High 
street from the railroad depot, and here erected a building, 
supposed at that time to be amply sufficient to supply the 
w^ant of a Soldiers' Home. It was about one hundred feet 
long, thirty feet wide and two stories high, fitted with all 
the appurtenances of a Soldiers' Home, and could comfort- 
ably lodge and feed about fifty men. Later in the year 

23 



354 SAXITAET COMMISSION — ^YESTERK DEPARTMENT. 

these aecomniodatioiis were found inadequate to meet tlie 
wants of the soldiers applying for admission, and it was 
enlarged and its capacity doubled. Even then it was found 
none too large to perform the relief work for which it was 
designed, at times being crowded to excess. Up to nearly 
the close of the war its activity continued without important 
abatement, and it was even found necessary to keep it open 
long after active military operations had ceased. It was 
closed the 7tli of May, 1866, having accommodated twenty- 
five thousand six hundred and forty -nine, to whom were 
given thirty-four thousand nine hundred and eighty-two 
lodgings and ninety-nine thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-three meals. The details of the work performed by 
it are given more fully in the appended tabular statement, 
and yet here, as elsewhere, these figures must be regarded 
as an imperfect exponent of the good which it accomplished. 
The establishment and success of the Columbus Home are 
in a large degree due to the efforts of Mr. F. C. Sessions, a 
member of the Columbus Branch of the Sanitaiy Commis- 
sion, a gentleman who was one of the earliest volunteers in 
the cause of humanity called out by the w^ar, and who 
during its entii-e continuance, by his labors on battle fields, 
in camps and hospitals, while he sacrificed his personal 
interests and his health, won for himself the respect and 
admiration of all who knew him. His name frequently 
appears on the records of the work of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion at the West, in which, though an unpaid, he was a 
most earnest and faithful worker, and it is probable there 
are few to whom this imperfect tribute will convey any new 
impressions in regard to the value of the services which he 
rendered to the caus(^ of the countr}' and humanity during 
the war. Throughout the existence of the Home at Colum- 
bus, Mr. Sessions gave it his constant supervision, and he 
was in fact its outside siq^erintendent and manager. Tlie 



soldiers' home — COLUMBUS, 0. 355 

interior superintendent during 1865 and 1866 was Mr. T. E. 
Botsford, who liad previously been employed in the Home 
at Louisville, and was thoroughly trained for the duties 
which he performed so well. 

The following notice of the Columbus Home, written by 
an officer in the army, will serve to show what impression 
it produced on an unprejudiced observer in the spring of 
1865: 

COLrMBUS. O.. March IT. 1865. 
Mt Dear Friend : 

Being detained in this city lor four hours to-day. by missing tlie Crestline train, I 
thought I could spend my time profitably in visiting the Soldiers" Home, a large and 
commodious building erected by that traly patriotic and national organization— the 
United States Sanitaiy Commission. The building is only a few yards from the depot, 
and the sick or wounded soldier needs no direction to find it. for a large, conspicuous 
sign informs all that it is the Soldiers' Home ; and. on entering, I assure you I found 
it to be such. I entered a large sitting room, where I found about sixty returned 
prisoners, sitting comfortably around a glowing stove, and reciting to a few listeners 
their thrilling stories of outrage and wrong that make us blush for our kind south of 
Mason and Dixon. To the left of the entrance was a large hall with long, cleanly- 
spread tables, on which was loaded an abundance of that wholesome food for which 
those noble fellows had pined during their captivity. But now they were in "" God's 
country," as they called the Xorth ; and I felt, as I gazed on these provisions made for 
their comfort by the voluntary contributions of our citizens, that they were also 
"amongst God's people." 

One of the ofBcers of the Commission took me into the comfortable little hospital 
attached to the Home, where I saw rows of neat, clean cots, and on each was stretched 
the pale, emaciated form of a returned prisoner. Poor fellows I no tongue can tell 
their sufferings while in the hands of " the chivalry ;" and, although I have seen the 
reality myself. I listened with renewed interest : and, as I heard some touching story 
from the lips of a worn-down, ghastly-looking soldier, once a strong and stalwart 
youth. I could not hold back the tears of sympathy, while the fires of indignation 
burned afresh against our more than barbarous foe. 

But here, in the cozy Home, there was a quiet feeling of happiness. Kind hands 
were here to minister, and a hundred comforts assured them that their long captivity 
was not caused by a lack of interest on the part of the American people. They fully 
appreciated the philanthropy of the Sanitaiy Commission; and I heard many repeat 
the oft-quoted phrase, " God bless the ladies." I understand these poor fellows will 
be forwarded to their homes to-morrow, and their places will be occupied by others 
coming on. I assure you, my friend, my heart went out toward this noble organiza- 
tion, and I know every true soldier blesses it. 

The Legislature is in session here, but my visit to the Home prevented my going 
to the State House. I hope to see you soon. With best wishes, believe me. 

Faithfully, your friend, 

A. R. C. 



356 



SANITART COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 



Consolidated Report of Soldiers' Home, Columbus, O. 



New York.. 
Pennsvlvaii 
Viririnla-... 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin . 

Iowa -- 

Missouri .-. 
Xew Jersey 
Maryland ."- 
Kansas 



Mississipi 

New Hampshire. 

Elaine 

Massachusetts... 

Connecticut 

Kentucky 

Michigan... 

Florida... 

Louisiana 

Tennessee 

Xorth Carolina .. 

Arkansas 

Alabama 



474 


Georgia 




425 


Minnesota 




301 


Nebraska 




18,589 


California 




1,311 

836 


Rhode Island 

Texas 




350 
396 


U. S. Regulars 

U. S. Navv 




114 






109 
39 


Colored Troops 

District of Columbia 




427 

101 

19 


Whole Number Names Registered. 

AVhoIe Number Lodgings 

Whole Number Meals 


25, 
34, 
99 


31 


Discharged 


1 


93 
51 


Furloughed 

Sick ... 


6, 


274 


Wounded 


1 


931 


Time Out 


6 


1 


Paroled 




10 


Died 




360 


Refugees 




149 


Blind 




23 


Number Sent to Hospital 




2 


Wounds Dressed 





178 
103 

3 

1 
16 

1 
10 

1 

13 
10 



982 
863 
301 
435 
993 
494 
456 
215 

4 
313 

1 
373 
136 



CHAPTER lY 



CINCINNATI, 0. 

The history wliicli has been given of the Cincinnati 
Branch of the Sanitary Commission, affords abundant evi- 
dence of tlie patriotism, philanthropy and remarkable 
efficiency of the noble band of men who composed that 
body ; but the}^ have nowhere left a more enviable record 
of their good works than in their Soldiers' Home. This 
was established on the 1st of May, 1862, and though, at 
that early period, few had any conception of the magnitude 
of the struggle in which we were engaged, or of the import- 
ance that the work of the Sanitary Commission was 
destined to assume, still this Home was organized on a 
scale of liberality that enabled it at once to perform a con- 
spicuous part in the great w^ork of relief which crowded 
upon the Branch Commission. The building chosen for 
the Soldiers' Home was a large and handsome structure, 
near the corner of Third and Main streets, in the central 
portion of the city, and was that originally constructed by 
Mrs. Trollope for her bazaar. The speculation of this noted 
lady proving a failure, the building was diverted to other 
purposes, and became in time a large boarding-house or 
hotel. When taken by the Sanitary Commission it was 
found so admirably adapted to their purposes that few 
changes needed to be made in its internal arrangements. It 
was already provided with all the appliances necessary for 
the accommodation of large numbers of soldiers, having 
ample cooking ranges, a laundry, store rooms, dining hall, 



358 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

and convenient offices. To these were added tlie requisite 
batli rooms, and the Home was at once complete. It w^as 
now furnished in comfortable, almost luxurious style, and 
offered to the wayfaring soldier accommodations scarcely 
inferior to those of a lirst-class hotel. It was first fitted up 
with one hundred and fifty clean and tasteful beds, and 
subsequently, as its wants increased, an adjoining building 
was added to the Home, in which, if necessary, several 
hundred could be comfortably lodged. An oflice w^as pro- 
vided for the pajnuaster in the same building, and thus all 
the refinements of our system of special relief w^ere brought 
into full play. The Home was placed under the immediate 
superintendence of Colonel G. AY. D. Andrews, a man 
specially qualified by nature and education for this duty ; 
and its interests w^ere further guarded by the appointment 
of a committee, consisting of three members of the Branch 
Commission, wdio had it in special charge. During its long- 
life of three years and a half, the Home continued in the 
same good hands, and throughout this time the thorough- 
ness, neatness and good order, which were so conspicuous 
characteristics of its earlier management, continued una- 
bated. The nature of the services rendered to the soldier 
in the Home at Cincinnati may be inferred from one of the 
reports of the superintendent, given below. The immense 
aggregate of that work will be seen by reference to the 
table which follows it. 

Soi.DiKRS' Home. Scperintendknt's Office, 
Cincinnati. Septeml)er 21. ]863. 
Dk. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretarji Wesitrn Departntrnf U. ,S. Sani/(m/ Comnn'ssion, Louiscille: 
Dear Sir — Agreeably to your request, I seud you a brief report 

of what you denoiuinate "the workings'' of the institution from 

its opening, May 15, 1862, to September 1, 1863. 

Tlie ai'i-ivals have comprised sohliers from every loyal State, 

varying fi'oni one to a regiment at a time. Some have eaten a single 



soldiers' home — CIXCIXXATI, 0. 359 

meal and taken their departure; others have staid a day, two days, 
a week, and of late whole companies, on special duty in this city, 
for even months. 

In addition to the food and shelter liere furnished to the soldier, 
articles of clothing are given him. from a pair of shoes to a whole 
suit. He gets his stationery here, his letter franked when he finds 
himself without stamps ; he gets various kinds of military informa- 
tion, which saves him many steps and much inconvenience and 
vexation. 

Discharged soldiers have been greatly benefited and befriended 
in many ways. Erroneous papers have been returned to be cor- 
rected for them ; and when paymasters were without funds, their 
final statements have been cashed to the full amount and they sent 
on their Avay home to their needy families. 

The sick soldier has been taken here and his immediate wants 
and necessities provided for, till he could be better attended in hos- 
pital. ***5!<**H«H« 

In conclusion, I beg to assure you that every possible variety of 
good that can be done for the soldier, has been and still is being 
done here. 

The committee of the Commission, to whom has been entrusted 
the management of the Home, have been unceasing in their efforts 
to have it come promptly up to every reasonable expectation. 

"And when this toilsome strife is over," 

there will be no labor done, no sacrifice of time and money and 
personal comfort made, that will be looked back upon with more 
honest pride and satisfaction than that which has been bestowed 
on the Soldiers* Home of the Cincinnati Branch of the United 
States Sanitary Commission. 

Very respectfully yours, 

Ct. W. D. Andrews, 

Supen'ntendeid. 



360 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

THE SOLDIERS' HOME 

or THE 

CINCIXNATI BRANCH OF THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION, 

From the Opening, May 15, 1862, to the Cloeing, October 8, 1865. 

DEBIT. 

To Donations— Cash $ 118 53 

" Cincinnati Branch United States Sanitary Commission— Cash 6,189 05 

" Cincinnati Branch United States Sanitary Commission— Stores (estimated) '5,932 40 

" United States Subsistence Department— Rations ^estimated) 42,439 69 

" United States Quartermaster's Department— Rent 3,785 00 

" United States Quartermaster's Department— Fuel ^ 2,310 48 

" United States Quartermaster's Department— Range, Stoves and Pipe 1,063 30 

" Cincinnati Gas Light and Coke Company— Gas donated. 363 04 

" Cincinnati Water Department— Water Rent donated (estimated) 1,930 37 

Total $64,131 86 

CREDIT. 

By Groceries, not embraced in the Ration ...$ 1,371 31 

" Incidental Expenses 1,130 26 

" Ice 503 73 

" Meat and Vegetables, not embraced in the Ration 2,866 11 

" Repairs of Buildings occupied by the Home 1,278 83 

" Stationery 228 69 

•' Salary of Superintendent— forty-two m onths 4,439 97 

" Salary of Commissary— forty-two months 2,221 00 

" Wages of Fifteen Servants— forty-two months 9,512 05 

" Washing and Ironing— bedclothing and towels 1,268 14 

" Rations and Stores consumed 29,322 89 

" Rent paid 3,785 00 

" Fuel consumed 2,310 48 

" Range, Stoves and Pipe returned 1,063 30 

" Gas consumed 899 73 

■•' Water used 1,930 37 

Total - $64 , 131 86 



S U M M A R Y . 

Total Number Lodgings 45,400 

Total Number Meals &5H,704 



CHAP TEE Y 



LOUISYILLE, KY. 

The work of special relief, important as it became before 
the close of the war, formed no part of the original plan of 
organization of the Sanitary Commission, but was called 
into existence little by little, through actual and imperative 
wants whicli demanded to be supplied. The first of these 
wants developed itself at Louisville. 

In the autumn of 1861, quite a large Union army was 
gathered in Kentucky — an army composed mainly of new 
recruits, who, taken suddenly from civil life, were com- 
pelled to endure all the hardships and privations of a fall 
and winter campaign. To this severe and new experience 
were added several forms of contagious disease, which pre- 
vailed to an alarming extent among those who, coming 
from an agricultural and scattered population, had to a 
large degree escaped the diseases incident to childliood — 
measles, etc.— and had not been systematicall}^ protected 
from small pox by vaccination. As a consequence, when 
congregated together in the camps at JS^olin and Bacon 
Creek, an unparalleled percentage of the force was rendered 
unfit for duty ; in some instances half a regiment being at 
one time on the sick list. 

The natural result of this prevalence of eruptive diseases 
among those so imperfectly protected from exposure, was 
that a large number were permanently disabled, and early 
in the winter such persons began to be discharged and sent 



362 SAJ^ITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

hopeless, or at least helpless, invalids to the homes they 
had so recently left. Arriving in Louisville, these poor 
fellows, no longer in the Government service, under no 
official care or supervision, unpaid and friendless, were 
perhaps more worthy of sympathy aiid assistan(*e than any 
who subsequently became the recipients of the charities of 
a generous people. At this time no bounties w^ere paid, 
and our army in Kentucky was composed of men who had 
promptly offered themselves as defenders of the liberties of 
their country, stimulated b}^ no othei- motive than the 
purest and holiest patriotism ; and they were now^ making 
their w^ay, sadly and painfully, back to their homes and 
kindred, without the satisfaction of having struck a blow 
in their defense. It wdll not seem sui'prising, thei-efore, that 
the representatives of the Sanitary Commission at that time 
in Kentucky felt called upon to do anything and everything 
possible to relieve the wants and help on their way thos(^ 
whom I have described. 

The first step to be taken in this dir-ection was planily to 
provide some place of reception, near the IN^ashville depot, 
where discharged and furloughed men, coming in on the 
cars from the South, could find warmth, rest and rofi-esl]- 
meiit. 

Dr. A. N. Read, subsequently Chief Inspectoi- of the 
Army of the Cumberland, and at that time Ins^iector of 
the forces of General Sherman, which constituted the 
Ai'my of Occupation of Kentucky, was the first to feel the 
want I have described, and, in co-operation with the Ken- 
tucky Branch, he set himself to supply, as promptly as 
possible, the desired asylum. At this time the Kentucky 
Bi'anch of the Sanitary Commission was fully organized, 
and included among its members s(une of the most warm- 
hearted, purest and most energetic m(^ri to b(^ found in that 
or any other community. 



SOLDIBKS' HOME — LOUISVILLE, KY. 363 

Tlirougli tlie kindness of tlie Louisville and I^asliville 
Railroad Company, a wood slied, standing on the track 
and near the depot, was granted for the use of the Sanitary 
Commission. This was enclosed, fitted up with fifty beds ; 
a cooking range was furnished by General Buell, who had 
by this time taken command of the Department; cooks 
and nurses were provided; and on the 1st of February 
the Louisville Soldiers' Home was opened, and at once 
filled with those whose wants it was intended to supply. 

From that time till October, 1865, its doors were never 
closed. With new and repeatedly enlarged buildings, its 
capacity was increased tenfold. In the aggregate, over 
two hundred and seventy thousand men were lodged or 
fed beneath its roof; in addition to which, all the varied 
wants of its inmates received attention and, so far as 
possible, were relieved, so that the contribution it secured 
to the well-being and happiness of the soldiers of our army 
is beyond all computation. 

In the autumn of 1862, the business of the Home had so 
largely increased, and so many who deserved its charities 
were unable to find accommodation in it, that the construc- 
tion of a new building seemed an imperative necessity. 
Through the favor of the Louisville and Nashville Rail- 
road Company, whose sympathy with us in our work and 
kindness to the soldiers have been conspicuous throughout 
Ihe war, we were allowed the use of a portion of the depot 
grounds on the corner of Tenth and Broadway, within a 
stone's throw of the present passenger depot. Here a 
building was erected, one hundred feet long by twenty-five 
feet wide, the upper portion being entirely occupied as a 
dormitory, and was furnished with comfortable beds for 
one hundred men. The space below Avas divided into 
kitchen, dining-room, hospital for those too feeble to go 
above, an office and bath-room. The cost of tliis building 



364 SA]S"ITAET COMMISSIOI^^ — WESTERI^ DEPARTMENT. 

was paid from the central treasuiy of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, and, with its furniture, amounted to two thousand 
two hundred and twenty-eight dollars and thirty cents. 
The exterior of the building was pleasing to the eye, and 
within it was furnished with gas and water ; and its equip- 
ment in all tilings was of the most complete and substantial 
kind. 

The Home as then organized contrasted strongly with its 
previous condition. Its capacity was more than doubled, 
and the comfort and satisfaction, both of those entertained 
in it and those connected with its administration, were 
greatly enhanced by the improvements I have described ; 
yet at the end of another half year it liad become neces- 
sary to enlarge it still further. It was no^^ placed under 
the supervision of the Kentucky Branch of the Sanitary 
Commission, the subsequent expenses of its construction 
and maintenance being paid from the Branch treasur}^; 
and to the activity of the Branch Commission is mainly 
due the credit for the great good work accomplished 
by it. 

In the spring of 1863, a building, in dimensions precisely 
equal to the first, was constructed parallel with it, and in 
the rear of both the Government caused to be built, for the 
use of the Commission, a "Soldiers' Rest'' — for the accom- 
modation of detachments of well men — three hundred feet 
long and twenty-five feet wide. The new building of the 
Home proper was divided into a dormitory above, and 
sitting-room, (which served as a reading room and chapel,) 
baggage room and offices below. These offices were occu- 
pied by the paymaster wliose duty it was to pay the troops 
at Louisville, who was induced to take up his quarters in 
the Home, in order that the soldiers entc^Hained there 
miglit the more readily accomplish the business which 
so many of thc^m had with his ofl[ice. Religious services 



soldiers' home — LOUISVILLE, KY. 365 

were held in the chapel every Sabbath, and it was usually 
filled by a thoughtful and attentive audience. 

Until the 1st of January, 1865, the Home was under the 
direction of James Morton as superintendent, and James 
Malona as steward, both excellent men; and they were 
therefore in charge during the period reached in our nar- 
rative. The condition of the Home will be best learned 
by the monthly reports of the superintendent, two of 
which are given below: 

Louisville, June 11, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secveiary West<^rn. Depcnimenf U. 8. Sanitary Commission : 

Sir — Since the 1st of February, 1863, the number of men 
received and cared for at the Home has been ten thousand one 
hundred and eighty-nine; average number weekly, five hundred 
and ninety-nine; average number daily, eighty-five. 

Since the 24th of March, I have given attention to the claims 
of three hundred and ten men; collected for discharged soldiers, 
in the aggregate, twenty-five thousand and sixty-four dollars and 
ninety-three cents ; a weekly average of thirty-one men, and amount 
of two thousand five hundred and six dollars and forty-nine cents. 

I have had frequently to return defective papers for correction, 
and take pleasure in stating that the officers to whom they have 
been sent have been obliging and prompt in perfecting and return- 
ing them, that the soldier might receive his pay and resume his 
journey homeward. 

When it has been necessary, in the case of defective papers or 
otherwise, that the soldier should go on without detention, I have 
made advances to facilitate them, and remitted balances after col- 
lections for their account. 

Whole number of deaths since the 1st of February, twelve. 

On the arrival of very sick men, friends abroad are notified 
promptly, and every attention is given to make them comfortable. 
I would remark that Dr. Burch, of Hospital No. 1, has been very 
kind and prompt in giving attention to the sick at the Home, for 
which he deserves the thanks of all concerned. In case of death, 
all the effects and money of deceased soldiers are preserved, and 
delivered to the properly authorized party or parties. The dead 



366 SAI^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

are decently buried in Cave Hill Cemetery, where many of our 
noble dead sleep side by side. The graves are numbered, so that 
friends can find their remains. 

The Home now receives passing troops going to the field, by 
brigades, regiments, companies or parts of companies. We are 
making additional improvements, which will be completed in a 
few days. The new building is three hundred feet long and 
twenty-five feet wide, and, when completed, the capacity of the 
Home will be sufficient to accommodate a thousand men daily. 

Very respectfully, 

J. Morton. 

Louisville Soldiers' Home, September 1, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Sir — The Home is now complete in buildings and all arrange- 
ments necessary to provide for and take care of all discharged and 
furloughed soldiers arriving in the city, who may desire or require 
a resting place, attention or assistance in any way. In the Home 
proper we have capacity, with bedding and furniture, to accom- 
modate two hundred, and the station-house attached furnishes 
comfortable lodging-room for eight hundred more, and is fre- 
quently occupied by regiments and detachments passing through 
the city. 

For July, the whole number of meals given was twenty-four 
thousand nine hundred and seven ; in August, fourteen thousand 
three hundred and nineteen. Number of lodgings furnished in 
July, one thousand two hundred and sixty; for August, one thou- 
sand three hundred and ninety-five. No record was made of those 
lodging in the Soldiers' Rest. 

Our collections for feeble and disabled soldiers have amounted to 
three thousand three hundred and ninety-six dollars and seventy- 
three cents during the past month. 

For the comfort and convenience of discharged soldiers arriving 
at the Home, and those from other places in the city, who are feeble 
and require rest while waiting for their pay, rooms have been pre- 
pared in one of its buildings as an ofiice for tlie paymaster and the 
accommodation of his clerks, and these are occupied by Major Camp, 
Paymaster U. S. A., who is prompt and obliging in his attention to 



soldiers' home — LOUISVILLE, EY. 367 

those having business with him. This arrangement has diminished 
the calls upon us for making the collections for discharged soldiers; 
it being necessary to collect only for such as are absent or too feeble 
to call themselves on the paymaster. 

We continue to give attention to defective discharge papers, and 
have daily calls for assistance in the way of advice. 

I am happy to state that all the employes of the Home are atten- 
tive and prompt in the discharge of their duties; and, so far as I 
know, universal satisfaction has been given to those who have 
enjoyed its hospitalities. 

Yours, respectfully, 

J. MORTOK. 

If we look at tlie Louisville Home a year later, viz., in 
the autumn of 1864, we shall find it still further enlarged 
by the addition of twenty -five feet in length to each of 
the Home buildings, and the construction of an extensive 
kitchen, laundry and special-diet kitchens, forming a new 
and additional building; yet, with its increased capacity, 
it is crowded to excess, the number of meals furnished in 
September being twenty-six thousand three hundred and 
twenty-nine ; in October, twenty-eight thousand two hun- 
dred and three; in IN'ovember, thirty-three thousand four 
hundred and forty-nine ; in December, fifty-nine thousand 
eight hundred and seventy-two. At the close of this year, 
the veteran officers, whose names I have mentioned, felt 
compelled to withdraw — Mr. Morton by the claims of his 
business, Mr. Malona from failing health — and they were 
succeeded by Mr. Y. Scott as superintendent, and Mr. E. F. 
Henderson as steward, who continued in charge till the 
Home was closed — October 1, 1865. 

During the period of its continuance the Louisville Home 
received more than two hundred and seventy thousand two 
hundred and fifty-three soldiers, lodged one hundred and 
twenty-seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-one, and 



368 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

gave six liiitidred and ninety-four thousand and eiglity-two 
meals. Here, as at most of the other Homes of the Com- 
mission, rations were drawn from the Commissary for the 
subsistence of the soldiers entertained at the Home — the 
military authorities by a wise and generous policy granting 
to fuiioughed and discharged men the ration which they 
received while in the service, and to which, technically 
speaking, they were no longer entitled. 



CHAPTEE YI. 



s o X. XD I E :E^ s' hzoi^e, 

X A S H V I L L E , T £ X X . 

Ix the spring of 1868. the army of General Eosecrans 
being located at Murfreesboro, there was experienced at 
JS'ashviUe a great want of proper accommodations for fur- 
loiighed and discharged men returning from that army, and 
Dr. A. X. Eead, Chief Inspector of the Department of the 
Cumberland, took the matter in hand of supplying such 
accommodations, through the Agency of the Sanitary Com- 
mission. By orders of General Eosecrans the upper story 
of the Chattanooga Eailroad depot was set apart for our 
use, and on being put in order it was found to be in many 
respects admirably adapted to this purpose. These rooms 
were reached by a broad and easy flight of stairs, were high 
and airy, well lighted and cheerful, and being at the ter- 
minus of the railroad, were just where they should be for 
the convenient reception of invalid soldiers coming in from 
the South. Until others could be procured, iron bedsteads 
were borrowed from the Medical Department, and through 
the exertions of Dr. Eead and Mr. Crane, the Home was 
not only fitted for comfort and service, but presented a most 
tasteful and attractive appearance. 

Mr. L. Crane was the first superintendent, a gentleman 
of independent means, residing at Laporte, Ind. He had 
left his business, led by patriotism and philanthropy, and 
had come to Xashville, desiring only to take some part in 
the great struggle in which we were engaged. Becoming 

24 



370 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — AVESTERX DEPART:MEXT. 

interested in ou]- work, lie accepted tlie superintendence of 

the Home, and for some months devoted himself, with 

nntiring and marked ability, to the success of the enterprise. 

He proved admirably qualitied for the place, and it was 

with unfeigned and universal regret, when the claims of his 

family and business made it imperatively necessary, that 

his resignation was accepted. 

The first report of Mr. Crane gives so good a picture of 

the inauguration and first quarter's work of the Home, 

that I am tempted to quote largely fi'om it. It reads as 

follows : 

Soldiers" Home. 
:N'ashyille. Tenn., Julyl. 1S63. 
De. J. S. Xewberrt : 

Secretary We.<itern Depariment U. S. Saniiary Cowmission : 
I have the honor to submit the following rei^ort of the operations 
of the Xashville Home for the quarter ending June 30, 1863. 
About the middle of March last I was assigned to tlie charge of this 
work. In connection with Dr. Eead I at once set about making 
arrangements to establish a Soldiers' Home here. Through the 
kindness of General Kosecrans, who fully appreciated the efforts 
made by the Commission to mitigate the privations and suffering 
of his brave men, we succeeded in having assigned to us a splendid 
suite of rooms over the passenger depot of the Xashville and 
Chattanooga Eailroad ; and here, on the 26th of March, 1863. we 
formally opened the Home. The objects kept in view at this 
Agency have been the same as those which have accomplished so 
much in the Special Relief Agencies at Washington, Cincinnati, 
Louisville, etc.. viz : to ftirnish to discharged, sick and furloughed 
soldiers a resting place and food, also all needed assistance in cor- 
recting defective papers, obtaining pay, pensions, and seeing them 
safely on their way to their homes, without charge; in short, to do 
all for this class of men that their parents and brothers could do 
were they here in person with abundance of means and thoroughly 
acquainted with the work of the various officers. Indeed, with a 
small force, aided by a thorough system, the Commission is enabled 
to do for these men what their personal friends would be utterly 
unable to accomplish were they to put themselves to the expense of 



-XASHYILLE, TEii}"^''. 371 

a journey and sojourn here. By request of General Eosecrans we 
have admitted to the Home only discharged and furloughed 
soldiers. All others passing through J^ashyille, and not under the 
charge of an officer, are ordered to report to the Exchange Barracks, 
where they are provided with rations and lodgings and are fur- 
nished with transportation to their respective commands. But 
although we have not formally admitted to the Home these detached 
passing soldiers, and their names do not appear upon our books, 
yet upon arrival at the depot, after a long ride, tired and hungry, 
we have furnished great numbers of them with refreshments and a 
temporary resting-place. 

"We have guides to visit the depots on the arrival of trains, to 
conduct the men to the Home, where their baggage is checked, and 
their names, number of the company and regiment, condition, 
destination, etc., properly recorded, after which their papers are 
carefully examined and such as are defective retained for correction. 
I lose no time in writing out the necessary corrections to be made 
and forward them to our agents at Murfreesboro or other points, 
who receive them on the arrival of the mail, and at once set out to 
the regiments and companies to have the corrections made. Sets of 
papers are frequently returned to me from Murfreesboro, corrected, 
on the day they are sent out from here. After a soldier has been 
for a long time sick in hospital, and is at last informed that he is 
discharged, his papers are made out, and he actually starts for home, 
but few can appreciate his sufferings of mind if, through the care- 
lessness of his captain, or from some other cause, he is compelled to 
wait while his papers are sent back to be corrected. He is wholly 
absorbed in the one idea of home. Ko pains or labor have, there- 
fore, been spared to enable those arriving here from the front to go 
on with as little delay as possible. In many cases of defective 
papers, when the necessity was peculiarly urgent, I have made 
advances of money to facilitate their homeward passage and remitted 
the balance after collecting their accounts, and for these favors 
reaped a rich reward in witnessing the evident happiness it afforded 
the soldier, in his gratitude expressed on leaving the Home, and in 
letters acknowledging the receipt of the amounts forwarded. Many 
applications are made for assistance by soldiers and their friends 
who are able to attend to their own business, but are strangers in 
the city and do not know where or how to go to work. Manv ' 



o'i'2 SAXITART COMMISSION — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

letters of inquiry are received and answered, and mncli time is 
spent in various other ways in the legitimate labors of the Agency, 
no record of wliich is kept and which cannot be exhibited in a report 
of this kind. The question has often occurred to me, what would 
these men have done had it not been for the care taken of them at 
the Soldiers' Home ? Some of the sick and feeble would certainly 
have died without it. It has saved a vast amount of suftering and 
relieved those who had defective papers from delays which would 
have consumed all their dues if they had not been so helped. I 
believe this Agency has saved more than four times as much money 
in this way as its entire cost during the quarter: and then who can 
compute in dollars and cents the anxiety and sutfering we have 
been instrumental in saving ? Those who have died at the Home 
have been buried at the expense of the Government, in the cemetery 
here, and their money and effects sent to their heirs as soon as we 
could communicate with them. 

The Home continned in operation at the Chattanooga 
depot, with constantly increasing business, until the last of 
August, when, the railroad having been repaired and 
opened to the Tennessee River, the rooms occupied by the 
Home were required for other purposes. The military 
authorities then liii'ed and assigned to us the Planters' 
Hotel, on Summer street, a convenient location, in the center 
of the city, and this continued to be the Soldiers' Home of 
the Sanitary Commission till the close of the war. This 
building, though entirely inadequate to accommodate the 
ci'owds who subsequently throngc^l the Home. Avas then 
su])])()s»'d to be sufficiently commodious. It affoi'ded s])ace 
for o.ip hundred beds in its different apartments, and each 
story was furnished with bi'oad piazzas on which, for 
nioutlisata time in the warm season, a much larger number 
weic comforta]>ly accommodated on extemporized beds. 
Soon after tlie change of location was effected, Mr. Crane, 
th<* rxccllciit su])<'riiit('n(l(Mit of the Home, was compelled 
t(» h'jivr. and in Octobn- bis ])ln('o was su])])lied by (^aptain 



soldiers' home — XASHVILLE. TEXX. 373 

Isaac Braj-ton, who administered the duties of the position 
with marked ability and with universal satisfaction, to the 
close of the war. Captain Brayton was a man specially 
qualified for this place. Accustomed, by many years 
experience at sea. to control men, and to secure cleanli- 
ness and good order, his hrmness was tempered with great 
kindness of heart and Christian principle — a combination 
of excellencies constantly called into exercise in the trying- 
position in which he was placed. I cannot better illustrate 
the character and amount of the work done at the Soldiers' 
Home in JS'ashville, than by making the following quota- 
tions from his reports and letters : 

Soldiers' Home, 
Xashville, Texx., January, 18(>'). 
Dr. J. S. Xewberrt, 

Secretary Western Dtparirneid U. S. Sanitary Commission: 

Dear Sir — Agreeably to the request of Mr. F. ]^. Knapp, I will 
give a summary of the business of the Home during the fourteen 
months it has been under my charge, with a few incidents that may 
illustrate the daily working of the institution. 

From the first day of November, 1863, to the last day of Decem- 
ber, 1861:, there were received into the Home ninety-three thousand 
four hundred and seventy-six soldiers ; to w^hom were given two 
hundred and seventy-three thousand seven hundred and thirty- 
nine meals and ninety-one thousand five hundred and thirty-two 
lodgings. Seventy-two thousand and forty-eight transportations 
were procured for traveling soldiers. 

Collections of back pay have been made for one thousand three 
hundred and fifty-four discharged men, for whom two hundred and 
sixty-one thousand and fifty dollars and fifty-seven cents have been 
drawn from paymasters and paid over. 

The business of collecting back pay for discharged soldiers has 
increased of late. I am sorry to say, that about one in four of all 
the discharge papers that come from the front are incorrect. This 
adds greatly to our labor, and subjects the soldiers to the hardships 
of returning to their commands, to have them corrected, often a 
distance of several hundred miles. When the soldier is wounded. 



374 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT! 

or too unwell to return, we send a messenger, if necessary. One 
has just returned with papers, on which nothing could be collected 
when presented, but being corrected we have drawn for him one 
hundred and eighty-one dollars and twenty-one cents, and sent the 
sick man on his way to Louisville, by hospital train, rejoicing. Not 
long since we persuaded an old crippled soldier to go back to his 
regiment with his papers twice. The first time he reported that his 
Colonel abused him, and sent him back to Nashville without look- 
ing at his papers. The second time we wrote the Colonel a kind, 
explanatory letter, and the papers were returned corrected, and back 
pay was drawn, amounting to two hundred and twenty dollars, 
which raised the soldier's spirits from a point near despair to the 
full fever heat of joy. On one occasion eigliteen out of twenty 
papers were sent back in one day. 

All regular meals have been given warm, with coffee in the 
morning, and tea or coffee at night. At dinner we have generally 
served up a good fresh beef soup, with soft bread daily from the 
baker. The beef from which the soup was made, with boiled ham 
or mess pork, has also been given, accompanied with potatoes, 
onions, krout and pickles, the most of the time. Vegetables, fresh 
and in vinegar, have been furnished us by the Commission. The 
quantity I cannot now state, but they amount to many hundred 
bushels, beside barrels, kegs and boxes by wagon loads. 

We cannot say much in regard to the lodgings given, as we 
have room for only one hundred beds, which are generally filled 
soon after dark, leaving hundreds to take their blankets and the 
floors. 

The transportations mentioned were procured for men who had 
furloughs, or other papers authorizing them to travel. These came 
in at all hours of the day and night. 

All soldiers, on arrival, report to the clerk, who examines their 
authority for traveling, registers their names, and procures trans- 
portation on their papers, ready for the next train, unless there is a 
good reason for stopping longer. 

When their names are registered, their papers are taken and 
sent at certain hours to the Quartermaster for transportation, while 
the soldiers eat, sleep, or rest. An hour before car time the sick or 
wounded are carried in ambulances to the train, assisted on board, 
and their transportation exchanged for tickets. 



soldiers' home — NASHVILLE, ten:n-. 375 

This system has saved much delay and perplexity to the men. 
Before its adoption it was not uncommon for soldiers to remain 
several days seeking transportation, while others were content to 
enjoy our hospitalities without an effort. 

Seven thousand six hundred and eighty-five of the number 
admitted have been wounded, and ten thousand two hundred and 
forty-three were sick. The wound-dressers, with soap, water, 
sponges, bandages and cerate, were always ready to receive the 
wounded and relieve their pain by fresh dressing, while the nurses 
received the sick and prepared them by anodynes, cordials and 
nourishing food for their further journey. 

Generally the sick and wounded are sent forward after a day of 
rest, but it is not uncommon for men to be so exhausted on arriving 
here as to make it necessary to send them to a hospital to recruit. 
Such could not remain long at the Home, as the house would soon 
be filled, and the weary traveler find no place to rest. 

For the sick and wounded the Sanitary Commission provide 
medicines and restoratives without stint, with every conceivable 
article of nourishment that the market or the canning system can 
produce. 

Besides bandages, lint, rags, soap, towels, arm-slings, crutches, 
etc., etc., I have been furnished with every article of clothing worn 
by soldiers, to be furnished them when, as often happens after a 
battle, they are compelled to travel without their descriptive lists, 
on which alone they can draw from the Government. The sufferers 
have thus been saved many thousands of dollars by such issues 
from this Home, while the promotion of health and comfort has 
been beyond estimate. 

Among our suffering visitors we have cases that excite our 
sympathies and touch the heart with a painful force. Fathers and 
mothers, wives, sisters and brothers, come in numbers from the 
North, seeking their sick, wounded, or lost ones. Some are without 
means; others find their money nearly expended before their object 
is accomplished, and come to the Home for advice and assistance. 
They are never turned away empty. Every assistance is afforded 
them that our house, or knowledge of passing events, and our 
means can afford. Some find their friends at the Home. Others 
are assisted to find them in hospitals or camps. Some, alas ! find 
them recorded with the dead, and return broken-hearted to desolate 



3i6 SA^s^ITARY COMMISSIOJs^ — WESTERIs" DEPARTMENT. 

homes. Many of tliese were females who had wandered through 
the city in qnest of a shelter half the night before coming to the 
Home, either because they had not heard of our house, or because 
an impression had gone out that we could not entertain females 
because of the great rush of soldiers and the impossibility of taking, 
on some occasions, half that applied. Yet we never turned a 
soldier's relation away who came on an errand of inquiry. 

Eeceutly we have appropriated additional rooms, and employed 
a matron of experience to give special attention to the comfort of 
females. This plan is working admirably, and daily relief and 
comfort is afforded to many under circumstances that abundantly 
reward all who participate in the work. 

A young man came from the army to the Home in an advanced 
stage of dropsy. His paroxysms of pain at intervals were dreadful. 
Soon a telegram came from his father, inquiring for the son. 
The answer was: "Come quickly, if you would see him alive." He 
arrived the next day near night, and spent an hour with his son, 
(who was singularly comfortable between the paroxysms,) when he 
breathed out his life on his father's bosom. All needed assistance 
was rendered in burying the son, but the parent's agony was carried 
home. 

A slender female came from Wisconsin; she received a letter 
sayiug her husband, at the front, had received a furlough, and, 
though very low with chronic diarrhoea, was about to make the 
dangerous experiment of going home. She thought of it a few 
days, but the picture of his sufferings along the line of travel 
prevented sleep, and she determined to fly to his rescue. After 
traversing a part of five States, she arrived at Nashville, a stranger 
and alone. Stepping on to the platform, true to her one object, she 
inquired in a crowd for her husband — no one knew him. At 
length a young man said to her: " I have just come from the Chat- 
tanooga depot, where I saw a soldier, too weak to stand, taken from 
a car and laid on the platform." " That may be my husband ; I 
will go to him," she replied. Directed by the young man, she 
crossed the city to the dei)ot. On turning the corner near the 
platform she saw a form wrapped in a blanket. Hastening her 
step, she turned back the folds and found her loved one. Regard- 
less of the crowd, slie sat down, laid his weary head in her lap, and 
spoke to him as no other could — of love, hope, home, and their 



soldiers' home — NASHVILLE, TEXN". 377 

dear child. They were brought to the Home. He was laid on a 
clean cot, and another placed near for her ; but she took a kneeling 
position beside him, and kept it almost constantly day and night. 
With her affectionate attention, and the use of cordials, he Avas 
greatly reyiyed for a few hours. 

The pleasure of looking upon the happy and truly handsome 
couple compensated us for any amount of attention we had bestowed 
on them and others for months. It was, howeyer, too late. Two 
days after, while kneeling close to him and whispering words of 
affection, he suddenly put his arm around her neck, and, kissing 
her feebly, said : " I shall neyer see our chikU^ The breath passed 
with the yoice, and he was dead. She was taken by surprise. Such 
mental and physical agony I had neyer witnessed. The body was 
embalmed, and the sorrowing widow took her lonely way home 
with the precious remains. 

I could relate numerous other instances of almost equal interest 
that haye occurred at the Home and at hospitals, while the soldiers' 
sorrowing friends were stopping with us ; but it would all fail to 
conyey an adequate idea of the sufferings endured, or the labors 
performed by my faithful officers and attendants in relieying the 
wants of hungry and suffering humanity day and night. 

Eespectfully. 

Isaac Beaytox, 

Superintendent. 

On the 1st of August, I860, the Home yv^as closed, 
aiTangenieuts having been made with Dr. Cloak, of the 
Cumberland Hosp)ital, for the small number still arriving 
at i^asliville, who were the 'proper objects of the charities 
of the Home. The furniture and equipment of the Home, 
with such stores as were on hand at the time, were turned 
over to the Pennsylvania Freedman's Eelief Association, 
the Refugee Home, and the Refugee Orphan Asylum. 

From the 26th of March, 1863, to the 1st of August, 1865, 
the period during which the Home was kept open, one 
hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and 
ninety-three men were entertained there, and two hundred 



378 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTER:^ DEPARTMENT. 

and forty-two thousand nine hundred and eighty -five lodg- 
ings, and six hundred and one thousand two hundred and 
seventeen meals were given them. In addition to all other 
aid — for those unable to go themselves to the Paymasters 
office — three hundred thousand seven hundred and fifty-two 
dollars and one cent were collected and paid over, so far as 
known, without a mistake, and to tlie entire satisfaction of 
all concerned. 



CHAPTER YII. 



CAMP NELSOi^, KT. 

Its^ 1863 a large military force was gathered in Central 
and South-eastern Kentucky, as a defense against invasion, 
and in preparation for an advance upon Knoxville. At this 
time Camp IN'elson was made the most important military 
center, and the base of supplies for the army south of that 
point. IN'umerous large buildings were erected for the Com- 
missary and Quartermasters Departments, water works 
constructed, and other improvements of the most substan- 
tial character made, such as iitted it to become a large and 
permanent military encampment. At this time an Agency 
of the Sanitary Commission was established there, under 
the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Butler, who was 
already experienced in our work. This Agency was at 
first simply a depot of supplies, and from thence Sanitary 
stores were distributed to the camps and hospitals in that 
section of the State. A Sanitary train was dispatched to 
that place from Camp ISTelson, in charge of Mr. Butler. 
Previous to this time a Soldiers' Home had been much 
wanted at Camp Nelson, to furnish temporary entertain- 
ment for certain portions of the great number of troops 
passing through. For officers there were imperfect accom- 
modations in one miserable apology for a hotel, which was 
not only terribly deficient in quality, but also entirely 
inadequate in quantity. For the soldiers, single or in 
detachments, there was nothino- better than could be found 



380 SAI^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTEKN^ DEPARTMEN^T. 

at the front ; and, unless carrying their tents and provi- 
sions, they had little chance of being comfortably quartered 
there. Much suffering was daily and hourly the result of 
this state of things ; and in the winter of 1863-4, the con- 
templated means of relief, through a Soldiers' Home, were 
brought into active operation. 

The circumstances under which the Home was estab- 
lished are fully given in the hrst report of Mr. Butler, 
which is quoted below. Mr. Butler was chosen as its 
superintendent, and was every way fitted for the place. 
A man of unusual intelligence and energy, and thoroughly 
imbued with the true Christian spirit, he was prepared by 
long experience in our work to bring to bear upon this 
enterprise all that had been leaned els(nvhere by our 
efforts in the same direction. 

Dr. J. S. Newberry, ^^^^^ Nelson, Ky.. Maicli 15. 1864. 

Secretary Western Department Sanitary Comniisston : 

Dear Sir — I have the honor to submit to you the following 
brief report of the erection and present condition of the Soldiers' 
Home at Camp Nelson : 

In pursuance of the purpose of the Chief Quartermaster oi* this 
post, Captain T. S. Hall, to make Camp Nelson, as far as possible, 
replete with all the resources and facilities of a self-sustaining camp, 
the conception of a Soldiers' Home, its utility and advantages, pre- 
sented itself to the mind of that energetic officer. 

Captain Hall, during his career in the Quartermaster's Depart- 
ment, had already erected three Soldiers' Homes for the use of the 
Army of the Potomac; the fourth he proposed to build at this post, 
for the use of the "soldiers' organized frie?id.s,^^ the United States 
Sanitary Commission. 

Knowing the great demand for such an asylum, to feed well 
and comfortably lodge the hundreds that daily passed through the 
camps — also the great desire and anxiety of the Commission to do 
all within its legitimate sphere for the comfort and welfare of the 
soldiers — I at once accepted the proposition in behalf of the Com- 
mission. A few days afterward I started for Knox vi lie. 



soldiers' home — CAMP 2^ELS02^, KY. 381 

On my return to Camp JSTelson, about the 6th of January, I 
found the Home was in progress. 

Captain Hall submitted the plan in detail, when I made several 
suggestions for alterations, which he readily and cordially endorsed, 
indicating his desire to render the Home convenient, and in every 
respect adapted to its object. 

After intimating the variety and extent of the furnishings 
required for such an institution, I immediately reported the whole 
business, in person, to your office, accompanying which was a plan 
of the proposed Soldiers' Home. 

The following four or five weeks were occupied in collecting and 
preparing the furniture, also by occasional visits to Camp Xelson in 
pursuance of the same object. 

On the 20th of February the buildings were so far advanced that 
I was enabled to shelter about forty refugees from East Tennessee, 
who, after two or three days spent in preparation for entering the 
world at Cincinnati, went on their way thither rejoicing. 

The Home is now nearly completed in every particular. The 
principal structure is in the form of three sides of a hollow square, 
comprising two parallel wards ; the first one hundred and ten by 
twenty feet, and the second ninety by twenty feet, while the center 
building, uniting the wards, is eighty-five by twenty feet, and is 
designed for the dining hall — capacity about three hundred. 

The wards are economically fitted up with substantial bunks — 
easy of ventilation, and constructed with a view to the most 
effectual cleanliness. The two wards will accommodate about five 
hundred. 

As the buildings are erected on sloping grounds, the front of 
each ward has two stories, thus affording two suits of rooms of 
much value, and indeed indispensable to the Home. Beneath the 
first ward there is — first, the^ office, with a porch ; second, sleeping 
room ; third. Sanitary store room ; fourth, store room for the Home. 
Beneath the second ward there is — first, a bathing room, with a 
porch, containing four private bath tubs, supplied by double pipes, 
with hot and cold water ; second, a capacious baggage room. About 
twenty feet in the rear of the dining hall is a range of buildings, 
running parallel to it, and consisting of — first, a large laundry; 
second, wash house, capacity one hundred men; third, kitchen, 
with cooking power for five hundred ; fourth, commissary. There 



382 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

is also a large pantry contiguous to the dining hall, and communi- 
cating with the kitchen. 

Every roof is overlaid with patent roofing, and eyery floor is 
double planked, with an insertion of water-proof paper. Ample 
arrangements haye been made for the supply of any amount of hot 
and cold water in eyery portion of the buildings. 

In the center of the yard, between the two wards, it is designed 
to place a fountain, and also a hydrant. The grounds surrounding 
these and in front of the buildings will be sodded, and walks with 
trees will be laid out. A substantial cedar post and plank fence, 
commencing fifty feet in front of the porches, encloses the entire 
buildings of the Home, which, in harmony with the purpose of the 
architect, constitute the most unique, and, I trust, seryiceable and 
philanthropical institution of Camp N^elson. 

The necessity for a Soldiers' Home here has been severely felt 
for many months past ; and now that one has been erected, with 
ample and superior accommodations, much comfort and benefit 
may be presumed to be in store for all who come under its care 

Very respectfully yours, 

Thomas Butler. 

In a subsequent letter, Mr. Butler gives the follov^dng 
additional particulars in regard to tlie circumstances of the 
inauguration of the Home : 

On the morning of March 1, 1864, I received intelligence 
from Colonel John Croxton, 4th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, 
that nearly three hundred of his veteran volunteers, who had 
been home on furlough, would muster at camp toward evening. 
All their camp equipage had been left in Georgia, when they 
re-enlisted; consequently, they were without any means for a 
camp establishment. The colonel, foreseeing that preparations 
would be . required for their comfort, came in advance, and desired 
me to receive them into the Home. 

All our hands went merrily to work, under the direction of 
Mr. Eadcliffe, wiio was retained to assist me in the work of the 
Home and Sanitary services generally. Bedsacks were filled and 
all the furniture arranged with the utmost alacrity and speed. 



soldiers' home — CAMP XELSOIN^ KY. 383 

The snow fell through all the dark, cold day, and toward 
evening the weather was wretchedly severe. The men, nearly 
three hundred, came into camp toward evening; and, instead of 
being left to crawl into sundry open buildings, where cattle might 
be satisfied to remain and suffer, they were led into the Soldiers' 
Home, on which they at once began to pour their encomiums. 

This was the Soldiers' Home's natal hour ; and in the glowing 
stream of its lamp-light, it did offer, by its comfortable, cleanly 
and luminous asj^ect, a grateful welcome to these veteran soldiers. 

The night was extremely bitter, for the ground was saturated 
with melted snow, and the sky was like a vast crust of ice. 

The Home was, however, now completed; if not early enough 
for the full protection of all against exposure and suffering during 
the past months of this winter, it rescued very many thousands 
from hunger and a shelterless bed during the continuance of severe 
weather, and to a great extent made its inmates feel quite at home. 

Dr. Mitchell, cliief surgeon at Camp Xelsou, thus speaks 
of the Home and its administration : 

But of the Sanitary Commission and Soldiers' Home at Camp Nelson, I have a 
word to say through the columns of the Commission's Reporier: 

This Home has been fitted up with great care, and is now complete in its 
arrangements for the soldiers' comfort ; its sleeping apartments large and well 
ventilated ; its dining room sufficiently large for all ordinary purposes ; its supply 
of water abundant, and the arrangements for using it as an external application 
as complete as can well be ; its Sanitary store room, baggage room, wash house, 
dining hall and pantry complete in their arrangements ; and the well filled store 
room, and the abundant substantials on the dining room table, are evidences to 
the hungry soldiers that home friends remember them. Its walks, grass-plot, 
flower-beds and beautiful fountain are additions to all the other comforts which 
make it look and feel like home to the sick and weary soldier. 

The Commission has been well sustained at this camp, and through the untiring 
energy of its agent, Mr. Butler, every effort has been made to fully meet the expect- 
ations of the donors, by impartially distributing all stores entrusted to his care to 
hospitals, camps, regiments, and all other cases worthy of such beneficent inten- 
tions. 

During the year 1864, the work of the Home constantly 
increased in magnitude and importance, and diverged into 
all the various forms of relief into which the managers 
of this, as of all similar institutions at the West, were 
draw]i by an irresistible foi'ce. Tlie refugees, the enlisted 



384 SAJs^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

ii'eedmen, the contrabands, and the occupants of the mili- 
tary prison, each demanded and received a large share ot 
the thonght and care of Mr. Bntler and his associates. 
Two large hospital gardens were planted, for which seeds 
and utensils were furnished by the Sanitaiy Commission, 
and from which large sni)plies of fresh vegetables were 
furnished to the camp. 

In the following report of Mr. Butler he sums up the 
work of the Soldiers' Home for the year 1864 as follows : 

We review our efforts for the relief of the suffering in the 
District of Central Kentucky with much pride and pleasure. 
Scores have blessed the Sanitary Commission, through us, for its 
seasonable and abundant aid, and have thus crowned its work with 
a satisfactory proof of success. Humanity, in all its variety of 
phases and relations, and in every degree of need, has sought its 
helping hand and kindly greeting, and never in vain. While we 
have endeavored to maintain a righteous disbursement of the 
means entrusted to our stewardship, none in distress have gone 
away unsatisfied where we had the power to relieve them. Trials 
and discouragements have come upon us, such as are incident to 
the natural course of life, and inevitable in the earnest pursuit of 
duty; but the constant stream of pleasure which flowed through 
the channel of our business was an unfailing source of refresh- 
ment. 

Although justice seemed occasionally to demand it, yet never, 
through our agency, has a soldier been committed to the guard- 
house or prison. A deep regard for his liberty and reputation, and 
a profound commiseration for those whom I have seen suffer long 
and bitterly for some trivial offense, have prevented me from 
inflicting pain upon some soldiers guilty of serious misdemeanors, 
even while the guards were at the door ready to take them in 
custody. I feel proud that such good order was enfoi'ced through 
so long a period of time, with our army of soldiers, having soldiers' 
habits, and commonly reputed troublesome, without the punish- 
ment or im])risonment of a single man. The character and value 
of our efforts, which wei*e exerted for all, no matter how depraved, 
wretched or destitute, secured to us a coiTcsponding measure of 



SOLDIEES' HOME — CAMP NELSOi^, KY. 385 

influence, by which every facility for the successful prosecution of 
our work came naturally and reasonably within reach. 

It would be eyident, from the reports made to you during the 
past month, that we have been exceedingly busy. The raid of 
Breckenridge through East Tennessee has drawn into this District 
a large number of troops to resist him. Detachments and regi- 
ments, from Knoxville and elsewhere, have come to this camp for 
supplies, and all have combined to fill up the measure of our work. 
During the month we have furnished forty thousand three hundred 
and thirty-three meals and fourteen thousand seven hundred and 
twenty-two lodgings. 

The refugee women and children from the South still come here 
for protection and assistance. Occasionally we forward a family 
northward, generally to Cincinnati ; while several families, having 
gone for months through a series of diseases, still remain on our 
hands. 

The prison which, when we commenced our labors in the spring 
in behalf of incarcerated soldiers, contained several hundred, now 
contains but forty, and these principally old and sentenced offenders. 

The Soldiers' Home, by universal consent, has performed a good 
work by providing comfortable quarters and well-cooked meals for 
quite an army. For the past ten months the number of men 
received has been seventy-nine thousand eight hundred and eighty- 
three; lodgings furnished, eighty-six thousand six hundred and 
twenty-nine ; meals furnished, two hundred and forty-seven thou- 
sand three hundred and forty-nine. 

With the invaluable services of Mr. Eadcliffe, we enter on the 
new year with increased facilities, such as will, we hope, secure still 
greater success in our work. 

On the 1st of March, 1865, Mr. Butler reports a marked 
falling off in the number of soldiers received at the Home, 
but great activity in the care of refugees and freedmen. 
From this time our work gradually declined. The sub- 
jugation of the principal armies of the rebellion materially 
lessened our legitimate work for the soldier ; although the 
Home, the regimental hospitals in the field, the sole care 
of all the white refugees, and an important share of the 

25 



386 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WE6TERX DEPARTMEXT. 

business pertaining to the colored refugees, gave, for some 
months, constant employment to our agents. 

On the 1st of July. I860, the last of that corps of faithful 
men avIio. throughout the history of the Home, had aided 
so faithfully and efficiently in performing the great work 
accomplished there — the detailed assistants — was mustered 
out of the service, and returned home, to resume ao-ain the 
duties of citizenship. Camp Xelson. like other exclusively 
military posts, had dwindled into comparative unimport- 
ance ; and though, had the Home and depot been continued 
for months later, there would have been work to do, still in 
magnitude it scarcely justified the attendant expense: and 
on the 25tli of July the Home was closed, having enter- 
tained ninety-live thousand three hundred and thirty-seven 
soldiers, and furnished them two hundred and eightv-six 
thousand six hundred and hftv-six meals, and one hundred 
and two thousand five hundred and twenty-one lodgings. 
These figures do not include the large number of soldiers' 
families and other objects of charitable labor who shared, 
to a greater or less degree, the hospitalities of the Home 
and the ministration of our agents. All stores on hand, 
and the entire equipment of the Home, excepting the range 
and some more expensive articles of fiirniture, were turned 
over to the inmates of the camp of colored refugees — a most 
munificent donation, and one that was of priceless value to 
several hundred women and children, all destitute, and 
man}^ sick, who at that time occupied it. 



CI 




t: 



-J 


1 




1 


B 


4 1 




^ 


s 

9 






1 


1 




1 


[ ?.„... N .^ 




1 


L 


•-"J 



PLAN OF SOLDIERS' HOME, CAMP NELSON, KY. 



A— Open Court. 


I— Store Room. 


B— Balconies. 


K-Kitchen. 


C— Sleeping Wards, 110 x 20 feet. 


L — Commissary Room 


D— Dining Hall, 59 x 20 feet. 


M-Hall. 


E— Knapsack Room, under the Ward. 


N-Gate. 


F — Sanitary Store Room, under the Ward. 


0— Fence. 


G — Superintendent's Office. 


S— Steps. 


H— Bath Room, under the Ward. 





OHAPTEE VIII 



CAIRO. ILL. 

The Soldiers' Home at Cairo, 111., was established by 
Dr. J. H. Douglas, Inspector United States Sanitary Com- 
mission, witli the co-operation and assistance of the Chicago 
Branch of the Commission, in March, 1862. The Agency 
of the Sanitary Commission was at that time occupying two 
bnildings, each twenty by seventy feet, and one story high. 
These buildings had been turned over to the Commission 
by the Quartermaster, and possessed but one feature desir- 
able in a Soldiers' Home ; that of being located conveniently 
near to the railroad depot and steamboat landing. One of 
these was cleared of its contents, divided into proper apart- 
ments, furnished with cooking apparatus and thirty cots — 
for all of whicli there was room ; and thus the Soldiers' 
Home was inaugurated. 

At the request of Dr. Douglas, the Chicago Branch 
Commission appointed a superintendent, Mr. Thomas 
Maddy, who took charge of the Home on the 23d of March. 
He was succeeded in April by H. E. Hammond, followed 
by Greorge E. Sickles in May, and again by Mr. Maddy in 
July, Mrs. Maddy acting as matron. During this time the 
reports of the Home show that the number of meals daily 
furnished varied from one hundred and fifty to five hundred. 

Later in the same year, the Home proving entirely inade- 
quate to the demands upon it, it was enlarged by the 
addition of a two -story buildhia-, twentA^-five bv sixty feet. 



390 SANITAKT COMMISSION — WESTERN" DEPARTMENT. 

This was erected by tlie Quartermaster, but was so badly 
built that it liad soon to be re-roofed and floored anew by 
the Commission. Other rooms wxre provided for storing 
sup])lies, so that the whole buildings I have mentioned 
were given up to the Home. In August, 1863, Mr. C. jST. 
Shipman, general agent of the Commission at Cairo, took 
charge of the Home, and Miss A. L. Ostroni was appointed 
matron. 

In the same month I met Mr. E. W. Blatchford, treasurer 
of the Chicago Branch, by appointment, at Cairo, to decide 
upon some plan for further increasing the accommodations 
of the Home, they being still quite insufficient for the wants 
of the soldiers in transit. We decided not only to enlarge, 
l:)ut to remove the buildings, and the property upon which 
we desired to place them being held at an exorbitant rate of 
rent by non-resident owners, I addressed a letter to Major 
General Grant, askmg that this property be seized- by the 
Quartermaster and turned over to the Commission at a fair 
and reasonable rent. This request was granted by the issue 
of tlie following order : 

Head-Quarters Department of the Tennessee. 
Special Order. 

I. The following property is hereby seized and appropriated to the use of the 
Sanitary Commission, for the purpose of erecting and perfecting a Home for the 
accommodation of soldiers in transitu, to -svit : one hundred feet front, (with building,) 
lying next west of building now occupied as the Agency of the Sanitary Commission. 

II. The monthly rent of the land seized will be estimated and appraised by a 
commission of officers to be appointed by the commanding officer of the post. 

III. The United States Quartermaster at Cairo is directed to furnish the lumber 
and building materials necessarj' to convert the two wharf -boats now used by the 
Sanitary Commission into one substantial wharf -boat, with the necessary offices and 
convenience for transacting business. The labor to be furnished by the Commission. 

IV. The United States Quartermaster at Cairo will furnish transportation for 
two hundred and fifty tons of ice, gratuitously contributed for the use of the troops 
at Vicksburg. 

V. Brigadier (Jeneral Buford, commanding post, is directed to see the execution 

of this Order. 

I . S. GRANT, 

Major Oeneral. 



SOLDIEES' HOME — CAIEO, ILL. 391 

Iq the execution of this plan a new difficulty arose. 
There were no buildings to be obtained suitable for occupa- 
tion while the proposed changes were being made, and the 
work accomplished by the Home seemed so necessary, for 
the welfare of those it was intended to serve, that to close 
it for a length of time, at a period when its usefulness was 
greater than ever before, was regarded as scarcely possible. 
New buildings of the required capacity could not be con- 
structed for less than seven thousand dollars ; a much 
larger sum than had been appropriated for the purpose. 
Emboldened by the cordial manner in which General Grant 
had responded to the first request, Mr. Shipman again 
petitioned him, through Surgeon Hewitt, chief medical 
officer on General Grant' s staff, asking that the buildings 
be put up at the Government expense. This request was 
also promptly complied with in an order, given below, 
granting all and more than was asked, and paying the 
highest possible compliment to the great usefulness of the 
Sanitary Commission : 

Head-Quarters Department or the Tennessee, 

ViCKSBURG, Miss., September 28, 1863. 
Onnmanding Officer, Cairo, 111.: 

Sir— Direct the Post Quartermaster at Cairo to call upon the United States 

Sanitary agent at your place, and see exactly what buildings they require to be erected 

for their charitable and humane purposes. This Commission has been of such great 

service to the country, and at Cairo is doing so much for this army at this time, 

that I am disposed to extend its facilities for doing good in every way in my power. 

You will therefore cause to be put up, at Grovernment expense, suitable buildings for 

the Sanitary Commission, connecting those they already have ; and also put up for 

them necessary outbuildings. In doing this work all economy should be observed, 

bearing in mind that these buildings are not likely to be required for any great length 

of time for public service, and when no longer required will revert to the owner of 

the land on which they are built. If the barracks erected in 1861 have not been 

disposed of, material may be taken from them to put up the necessarj^ buildings. 

Very respectfully, 

U. S. GRANT, 

Major General. 

The new Home was located directly in the rear of the 
St. Charles Hotel, and formed a group of buildings, having 



392 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

a front one hundred and tliirty-one b}" seventy-two feet 
deep, tlie main structure two stories liigli. It was furnished 
by tlie Commission at an expense of tw^enty-two hundred 
dollars, and opened Februaiy 1, 1864 ; Mr. C. N. Shipman, 
superintendent, and Mrs. Joel Grant, matron. ' During the 
first month after it was opened it furnished twenty-one 
thousand nine hundred and forty-three meals and four 
thousand nine liundred and forty-one lodgings. The dining 
room was capable of seating two hundred persons, and as 
many as eleven hundred men have been fed in it in one day. 
The sleeping apartments contained one liundred and thirty- 
six beds, the hospital rooms twenty-five. Beside these, 
there were four rooms set apart for the use of soldiers' wives 
and families, and these w^ere nearly always filled. Here 
they found a cordial welcome and all the sympathies and 
comforts of a home. Coming, as they frequently did, with- 
out money, perhaps just from the grave of a husband or 
son, or on their wa}^ to the bedside w^here he lay dying, the 
value of the charity thus offered them can hardly be over 
estimated. Here also female nurses, teachers of freedmen 
and ladies of the Christian Commission were kindly received 
and cared for. 

The hospital was an important part of the Home, being 
often filled with w^eak and helpless men on furlough or dis- 
charged, with exhausted energies and feverish anxiety to 
reach their homes and families. At all hours of day or 
night they were met at the steamboat landing by ambulan- 
ces, in which they were taken to the Soldiers' Home, where 
they received proper care and medical treatment while they 
remained, and at departing weie often furnished with a cot. 
mattress or bedding, always nourishing food and whatevei* 
was necessary for their comfort while traveling. The letters 
received by Mrs. Grant from these recipients of her kindness, 
or fj-om tlicii" friends, are numerous and affecting. 



SOLDIEES' H03IE — CAIRO, ILL. 393 

Ten deaths occurred at the Soldiers' Home, and in all 
cases where relatives could be reached they were notified 
by telegraph or mail, and their wishes obeyed in the dispo- 
sition of the bodies. 

During the year 1864 there were admitted to the Home 
ninety-eight thousand and seventj-five men, to whom were 
furnished two hundred and nine thousand two hundred and 
thirty-one meals, and sixty-six thousand four hundred and 
ninety-eight lodgings. Over twelve thousand of these men 
were assisted in obtaining transportation. About the 1st 
of February, 1865, orders were issued from the military 
authorities sending all able-bodied men passing through 
Cairo to the Soldiers' Rest, a kind of barracks built by 
the CTOvernment at Cairo, and the first provision which it 
made for the accommodation of the soldiers in transit at 
this point. After this time only sick and wounded or dis- 
charged men were entertained at the Home. Still there was 
an important work to be done hy the Commission, as is 
shown by the fact that, between February and October of 
that year, forty-eight thousand three hundred and fifty-six 
meals were furnished at the Home to the class I have 
mentioned. 

The Home was finally closed October 1. 1865. It had 
been m operation for a period of forty-two months, at an 
expense to the IN'orth- Western Sanitary Commission, which 
had it more esjoecially in charge, of fourteen thousand 
one hundred and seventy-six dollars and forty-one cents; 
exclusive of the outlay from the Central Treasuiy. 

From its opening to the close there had been admitted to 
the Home one hundred and ninety-eight thousand four 
hundred and fifty-four men, to whom had been furnished 
four hundred and seventy-six thousand nine hundred and 
ninety-three meals, and one hundred and forty-one thou- 
sand four liundred and sixty-two lodgings. 



394 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

These lignres, large as tliey are, convey but a very 
imperfect idea of tlie value of the services rendered by the 
Home to the soldiers of our army. In addition to the meals 
and lodgings furnished, transportation was secured, pay 
collected, letters written and material wants supplied for 
many thousands, forming an aggregate of kindness to 
Avliich no description will do anything like justice. 

Of the management of the Home, particularly during 
the last two years, when the magnitude and importance of 
the work it was performing had been realized, and proper 
arrangements made for its accomplishment, too much can 
not be said in praise. Its superintendent and matrons 
proved to be the right persons in the right places. They 
did not consider their duty to the soldier fully performed 
in giving him good food and a comfortable bed, but endeav- 
ored to have the institution they controlled so conducted 
that every influence brought to bear upon its inmates should 
be for their good, and that to all who shai'ed its hospitalities 
it should prove a home indeed. 

WORK FOR '"REFUGEES'' AT CAIRO. 

Early in the war a misei'able class of people, the very 
lowest of the white population of the South, began to pour 
northward. Ignorant, ragged, penniless, and often sick, 
whole families of these wretched beings were landed at 
Caii'o, utterly unable to provide for themselves. No pro- 
vision had been made for this class of pei'sons by the mili- 
tary authorities, and General Buford, Post Commander, 
hoping it was but a temporary inliux, commenced sending 
them to the Soldiers' Home. Instead of diminishing, how- 
ever, as our army advanced the tide increased, until it 
became evident that some other place must l)e provided for 
refugees, or the Soldiers' Home be wholly given up to them. 
Ml-. Slii])mau, su])erintendent of the Home, laid the matter 



soldiers' home — CAIRO, ILL. 395 

before General Buford, and asked that certain unoccupied 
barracks be assigned to the refugees, and an officer detailed 
to take charge of them. There was no officer available at 
the time, and moreover it was questionable if the general' s 
authority extended so far ; he therefore proposed placing 
the whole matter in Mr. Shipman's hands, if he would 
accept of it, promising at the same time to render him all 
the assistance in his power. Seeing no other way by which 
the Home could be cleared, Mr. Shipman consented. At 
his request General Buford then detailed Kev. E. Folsom, 
Post Chaplain, to go on a collecting tour, the proceeds of 
which were to be expended in sending these people to their 
friends, or at least in placing them where they could be 
better cared for than here. Mr. Folsom went out in July, 
1863, and returned the following August, bringing with 
him seventeen hundred and fifty dollars, as the result of 
his labors. This afforded temporary relief, but still the 
refugees poured in, and again Chaplain Folsom was detailed 
for this duty. 

When the new Home was completed, the old buildings 
were given up to the refugees, and were occupied by them 
until the close of the war. During that time Mr. Folsom 
collected and turned over to Mr. Shipman thirtj^^-four 
thousand dollars in cash, besides large quantities of cloth- 
ing, by means of which more than forty thousand refugees 
were assisted on their way to various parts of the country. 
The whole work was voluntary and unrewarded on the 
part of Mr. Shipman ; not coming in the line of his duty as 
superintendent of the Soldiers' Home. 



CHAPTER IX 



s o Xj ID I IB :r s' XjOidoe, 

MEMPHIS, TEKN^. 

In tlie spring of 1863, General Grant, having concen- 
trated a large force near Yicksbnrg, and tlie conntry abont 
Corinth being occupied b}^ garrisons at various points, 
forming an aggregate of several thousand men, the number 
of furloughed and discharged soldiers j)assing through 
Memphis had come to be quite large, and, for want of 
proper accommodations, as has always been the case in 
similar circumstances, there was much suffering among 
them. To meet the wants of these men, tlie Western 
Sanitary Commission established a Soldiers' Home at 
Mempliis, which was made very complete and comfort- 
able, and which did much to relieve those needing such 
an asylum. But it was limited in its capacity, and was 
located so far away from the steamboat landing that there 
were still many — and those the most necessitous and help- 
less — wlio wei-e not able to avail themselves of its charities. 
In these circumstances, another somewliat similar institu- 
tion seemed to be required ; and it was lesolved to open a 
Home or Lodge, if possible, in the immediate vicinity of 
the steamboat landing, so that all who needed assistance at 
this point might receive it. In the crowdc^d state of the 
city it was found impossible to procure a suitable building 
in the desired location, and it bin-ame necessary^ to abandon 
the project, or construct a new building for the ])urpose. 
Owing to tlie high price of materials and scai-city of labor, 



soldiers' lodge — MEMPHIS, TE]^N. 397 

it was impossible to have such a building made at Memphis 
without great cost and long dela}^ This difficulty was 
removed, however, by the offer on the part of Mr. Blatch- 
ford, of the Chicago Branch Commission, to have the 
building constructed there. This was done immediately; 
and, by the liberality of the Illinois Central Railroad 
Company, its various portions, not yet joined together, 
were transported to Cairo gratuitously; from there they 
were shipped by the Sanitary steamer ''Dunleith" to 
Memphis, and, by two accompanying mechanics, put up 
upon a vacant space on the river bank adjacent to the 
steamboat landing. 

The design was to make this a simple Lodge or Feeding 
Station, at which men could find refreshment and shelter 
while waiting a few hours for the arrival or departure of 
steamers, and get such information and assistance as they 
required during their short stay. The care of sick or 
wounded men, save for a few hours, or a day at most, was 
no part of its work ; and this plan was never materially 
changed, although, naturally enough, circumstances often 
compelled deviation from it for a time. Men expecting to 
remain more than one day were, as a general rule, sent to 
the Soldiers' Home of the Western Sanitary Commission. 

The location chosen was on a bluff between Jefferson 
and Court streets, nearly fronting on the wharf-boat of 
the Memphis and St. Louis Packet Companj^ The main 
building was twenty-eight by eighty feet, and open to 
the roof. Tliis was divided into a dining, sleeping and 
sitting room, twenty feet long; a store room for Sanitary 
supplies, fifty feet long ; an office, ten by fourteen feet ; a 
baggage room, nine by ten feet ; and a wash room, five by 
ten feet. Adjoining the main building was added a kitchen, 
twenty-four by twelve feet, a privy, etc. Beds, table furni- 
ture and dishes were provided for about twenty men; 



398 SAN^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

and thus equipped, the Lodge was opened on the 20th of 
May, 1863. 

A few days' experience proved that the provisions made 
were entirely inadequate for the number applying for 
admission; and, as soon as possible, the capacity of the 
Lodge was increased to forty-two beds, with the necessary 
additions to its equipment in attendants, table furniture, 
etc., to accommodate this or a greater number. Under 
great pressure, the number of beds was increased to hfty- 
seven, where it remained until February, 1865, when, by 
putting in joists and laying a chamber floor, the number 
of beds was increased to seventy-two, and the dining room 
enlarged to thirty-six by twenty-eight feet. At this time 
an addition was made to the building for an office, baggage 
room, etc., leaving space in the interior for a sitting room, 
twenty-eight by thirty feet. JSTotwith standing these and 
some other additions made to the building, it was frequently 
crowded to excess, and hundreds were turned from its 
doors, unable to find even a shelter under its roof. 

At the time of the establishment of the Lodge at 
Memphis, the Commission was fortunate in securing the 
services of Mr. C. W. Christy as superintendent. He had 
the entire management of it from that time till it was closed, 
in October, 1865. In all his trying and laborious duties, 
Mr. Christy acquitted himself, not only with great credit, 
but with great honor to the Commission and benefit to 
those who came under his care. I think I may safely say 
the Commission had nowhere a more faithful or efficient 
officer. By his kind and energetic administration, he 
seems to have won the respect and esteem of all those 
who observed or experienced his management. 

In July, 1863, Mrs. Daniels, the wife of an Iowa soldier 
empk)yed in the Lodge, entered upon the duties of matron. 
She continued to liold that place until »luly, 1865, when 



soldiers' lodge — MEMPHIS, TEKN. 399 

she was succeeded by Miss Marshall, previoush^ matron 
of the Refugee Hospital, who remained until the Lodge 
was closed. 

The help employed at the Lodge consisted of detailed 
soldiers, and both w^hite and colored servants. Detailed 
men w^ere paid a per diem of thirty cents ; the other 
employes from eight to tifty dollars per month. With few 
exceptions, all these persons proved honest and faithful, 
and to their efficiency the usefulness and success of the 
Lodge was in good degree due. 

The Lodge at Memphis was closed October 4, 1865. 
During the two years and a half it continued open, thirty- 
nine thousand four hundred and thirty persons w^ere 
admitted, and to these w^ere given thirty-three thousand 
eight hundred and tw^enty lodgings and one hundred and 
tAventy-two thousand one hundred and thirty-eight meals. 
The cost of the construction of the Lodge, paid from the 
Central Treasury of the Sanitary Commission, w^as two 
thousand two hundred and seventy-five dollars and ninety- 
one cents — the expense of its maintenance, nine thousand 
five hundred and thirty dollars. With the exception of 
an interval of about two weeks, rations w^ere issued by the 
Commissary, under an order from Major General Hurlbut, 
to all the inmates of the Lodge, by w^hich its subsistence 
account was reduced to a very low figure. 

The tabulated statements of the work done at the 
Soldiers' Lodge, as in every other institution of the 
kind, very inadequately express the services rendered by 
it to humanity and the army. This is made apparent by 
the follow^ing extracts from the final report of Mr. Christy, 
the superintendent : 

The consolidated reports I send yon of the work of the Lodge, 
and of the special rehef work done in addition, give, in a condensed 
form, by months, a statistical exhibit of the amount and kind of 



400 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

work done, so far as mere figures can report such service. To one 
who is familiar with the field which the United States Sanitary 
Commission, in its special relief work, has sought to cover during 
the last three years, and who has seen how, through its Homes and 
Lodges, and special relief agents, this w^ork has been done, these 
figures will suggest volumes of detail; but to him Avho has not this 
vantage-ground of experience, volumes of detail would fail to bring 
up in its magnitude the service rendered to the soldier. It is but a 
small part of the good done that can be registered. Like the silent 
and unceasing ministry of friendship, its full record is not transfer- 
able from the memory of him who has received and of him who has 
bestowed. 

The records of the Home or Lodge will show how many in any 
given day were admitted; how many of these were sick; how many 
were fed; how many were lodged ; how mam^ were given clothing 
or money, or furnished medical advice or medicine; how many had 
Avounds dressed, transportation procured, aid in arranging papers, 
in drawing pay, or were loaned money; how many were taken to 
the hospital, or were carried to and from the steamers and cars. 
But the maternal care which goes to a transport or train, brings 
the sick or despondent soldier carefully to the Lodge, finds out, as 
soon as he enters, his condition and wants, prepares his food and 
drink, carries it to him, and cheers him as he eats; the preparation 
for moving him tenderly to the hospital or steamer; the gentleness 
with which he is transported; the benevolence that provides him 
cabin passage, or, if he must go on deck, puts him in the most 
comfortable place possible, arranges his bed, and looks up some 
one who will j^i'omise to aid him; the proidding little delicacies 
of food and drink for the trip; the letter or information given him, 
unasked for, which consigns him to as tender and perhaps better 
equipped hands in another Soldiers' Home at the end of this stage 
of his journey; the seeing Avhether the sick or disabled soldier has 
money — if he has, how it is carried, and whether it would not be 
more secure in the safe ; the careful dressing of wounds ; the kind- 
ness and humanity that look to see that each is fed and lodged in 
the best possible manner under the circumstances; and the vast 
and varied information given the soldier on numberless matters — 
each, small it may be in itself, and yet in the aggregate determining 
the light and shadow of the soldier's life — as deciding for him 



soldiers' lodge — MEMPHIS, TENK. 401 

whether there is need of his going to head-quarters, Commissary or 
Quartermaster, or Provost Marshal, or the Paymaster, and telling 
him where he can find each, and how to do his business, whatever 
it may be ; helping him to choose the wisest course of action under 
real or supposed difficulty with some of his officers ; or, in regard to 
privileges and pay, giving him information that dissipates his aggra- 
vations, or brings him patience and cheerfulness to bear them — 
all these services, and kindred ones, some one or more of which 
almost every man entering the Lodge receives, no statistical reports 
can at all set forth, nor can language do them justice. I know I do 
not exaggerate in saying that, at the Lodge in Memphis, the simple 
work of furnishing intelligence of the kind mentioned has averaged 
the full service of one good man during the whole time the Lodge 
was in operation. The worth of this kind of aid to the soldier 
cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. It frequently happened 
that men came in to dinner or supper, weary and discouraged by 
many hours of fruitless running about to do a little business, which, 
with our help, they afterward accomplished in fifteen minutes. 

Here are notes of one day's experience with discharged soldiers : 

Three men, discharged from regiment ; the papers of one 

wrong, those of the other two so made out as to subject them to a 
loss of twenty-five dollars advanced bounty and two months and 
three days clothing allowance ; but three dollars among them ; yet 
the regiment left Vicksburg a number of days ago in the expedition 
(supposed) against Mobile — so as to allow no chance of getting 
papers corrected for weeks. Got Government transportation for 
them to St. Louis endorsed on discharge papers. Two other 
discharged men, same regiment, without a cent ; papers so made 
out that they lose twenty-two dollars advanced bounty, and about 
one and one-half month's clothing allowance. These poor fellows, 
both sick and debilitated, took what was coming to them, and 

started home. One discharged man from regiment ; certificate 

of discharge not dated and statements altered. I sent papers back, 
and he remains here until their return. Found three other dis- 
charged men at pay-office ; no money, and papers all wrong. Two 

discharged men of the regiment, from Corinth — one sinking 

with consumption, going home to die, the other sick — both in 
charge of a man from the same regiment, furloughed expressly 
to go home with them, and under written instructions from their 



40'2 SANITARY COMMlSSrOX — WESTERN DEPAETMEXT. 

surgeons to get them home as soon as possible. Both sets of dis- 
charge papers wrong, and not a cent in the party — had paid out 
their last eighty-five cents for food, coming from Corinth. Got 
Government transportation for all. and gave them some money to 
get home. In all eleven discharged men, papers all wrong, three 
dollars among them, and not one able to carry his knapsack to the 
boat, about one hundred yards. 

Another value belonging to such an institution, and one that 
cannot be expressed in figures, is its service in protecting soldiers 
from unscrupulous tradesmen and the various agents of vice and 
shame who fill the path of the army. This social and moral service 
is a great want. 

I am unable to give the exact number of sick men cared for at 
the Lodge, as our record is in this respect incomplete. From the 
best information I have at hand, however, I am led to believe that 
the number will not fall below two thousand seven hundred and 
fifty, or one-fifteenth of the whole. By '• sick " ' I mean all classes of 
invalids, including wounded men. 

From September 1, 1863, to February. 1864, the arrangements 
of both the Home and the Lodge were inadequate to accommodate 
the multitude of soldiers, mostly furloughed, who applied for admis- 
sion. If we had had more room, our record of work done during 
that period would have been twice as great as it now is, as there 
were days and weeks when, being already full, we were obliged to 
turn applicants away. 

My labors in aid of discharged soldiers, and those having 
unsettled claims against the Government, began simultaneously 
with the duties of superintendent of the Lodge. With few 
exceptions, I limited myself to the prosecution of claims that 
could be collected without being referred to the Second Auditors 
Office. By my consolidated reports it aj^pears that one thousand 
seven hundred and ninety-five men were aided in correction of 
papers and the collection of claims, and that two hundred and 
sixty-four thousand one hundred and thirty-five dollars and thirty- 
five cents were collected and paid over to them. There were cases 
in Avhich papers were left in my hands in which were involved 
correspondence, new papers, certificates, powers of attorney, and 
visits to hospitals or regiments, or some of the various military 
head-quarters. 



soldiers' lodge — MEMPHIS, TEN^". 403 

This department of my duties was one of the most agreeable of 
all; and the gratitude with which the soldier has acknowledged aid 
thus rendered has been my richest reward. Of very many, I will 
cite one or two cases : 

One man, a member of the 2d New Jersey Cayalrv, had received 
his final statement, so made out that he could not draw any of his 
bounty. Attempting to get the back -pay certificates made out, we 
at first met with unexpected failure; but, persevering, we at last 
came upon the right track, and, as success began to show itself 
ahead, I was greatly moved, as well as amused, by the peculiar 
gratefulness with which he, every now and then, exclaimed, in 
strong Irish brogue, "I never can forget you, Mr. Christy, for 
all your trouble." The old man shed tears when, at last, we had 
everything right. 

In the winter of 1863-4, a sergeant was discharged from service 
in the convalescent camp at Memphis. He had been wounded at 
the battle of Shiloh, and was totally disabled. Luckily he came to 
me before going to the Paymaster's oflBce. I saw there were great 
difficulties in the way of his securing his pay. His regiment 
was then in the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tenn. It was painful to 
think of the poor man's waiting until returns could be had from 
that place. I took his papers, and set about getting up his case; 
visited the convalescent camp, obtained his descriptive list, and 
gathered what I could to strengthen his papers. I then took them 
to the Paymaster, who looked them hastily over, and said he would 
pay on them. I left them, and returned to the Lodge very much 
gratified. In about an hour they were sent back by an orderly, 
with word that the soldier could not be paid. I went again to the 
Paymaster, explained and pressed the case, and regained so much of 
the ground lost, that he said he would '• retain the papers and take 
advice in the case." Meantime, the soldier was in great anxiety, 
having the prospect before him of making a journey of five hundred 
miles, or remaining in Memphis waiting the slow and uncertain 
action of the mail, both of which seemed to him entirely impossible. 
At the appointed hour we went to hear the decision of the Pay- 
master, and when he said, " I will pay him," I was about as much 
rejoiced as ever I was in my life. 



CHAPTER X. 



PADUCAH, KY. 

In the autumn of 1864 the following letter Avas written 
to Colonel Allen, Medical Inspector IT. S. A., b}^ the 
Medical Director of the District of Western Kentucky. 
This letter was referred by Colonel Allen to Mr. Shipman, 
agent of the Sanitary Commission at Cairo, with an 
endorsement commending the appeal of Dr. Danforth to 
the attention of the Sanitary (Jommission and urging the 
establishment of a Soldiers' Home at Paducah. 

Head-Quarters Medical Director, District Western Kentucky, 

Paducah, Ky.. September 5, 1864. 
Colonel G. F. Allen, 

Medical Inspector TJ. S. A.: 

My Dear Doctor— We need a Soldiers' Home at Paducah. This is now the 
permanent head-quarters for the District. Mayfield, twenty-eight miles distant, con- 
tains about two thousand troops ; all the sick from Mayfield are sent here. There 
are a great many troops going and coming on furlough, (through here,) besides quite 
a large class of convalescents here unprovided for. 

The Sanitary Commission can find a commodious house for the Home, (rent free,) 
rebel property, of course. 

1 wish some one of the Commission would visit us and see if a Home may not be 

established here. 

I have the honor to remain, respectfullj', 

WILLIS DANFORTH, 

Medical Director Distiict Western Kcntncky. 

1 ENDOHi^EMKNT.] 

Cairo, III., September G, 1864. 
llespectfuUy referred to Mr. Shipman. I feel the subject to be of importance. 

G. F. ALLEN, 
Medical Inf^pector U. S. A. 

Tli(' matter being iclriK d to mr, sucli stex)s were imme- 
(liat<']y taken as were ii(>cessaiy foi' tlie accomplishment of 



soldiers' home — PADUCAH, KY. 405 

the object. Mr. E. D. Way, who had served us long and 
faithfully on the Mississippi, was commissioned to take 
charge of the enterprise. He went at once to Paducah, 
where he was cordially received by the military authorities, 
and all the assistance they could give him was cheerfully 
rendered. A building was assigned to him free of cost. 
When this was done, the necessary equipment was sent 
from Louisville and Cairo ; and on the 21st of ISTovember 
the Home was opened ; Mr. Way acting as superintendent, 
Mr. D. C. Petty as steward, and Mrs. Hosmer as matron. 
Though experiencing some vicissitudes from an attack 
made by the rebels upon Paducah, the Home was kept 
open, and was exceedingly useful, during the entire spring 
of 1865 ; then the causes which led to its establishment 
had ceased to exist, and it was closed on the 1st of June, 
having in that time accommodated forty -five hundred and 
fifty men, to whom were given fifty-nine hundred lodgings 
and thirty thousand seven hundred and forty- six meals. 
The character of the work done at the Paducah Home was 
essentially the same as that described in the history of other 
similar establishments, and there is abundant evidence that 
it was humane and valuable. The want of space forbids our 
giving any detailed account of its history or experiences, 
and the subjoined letter may be accepted as some evidence 
of its usefulness : 

(From the Cincinnati Gazette.) 

CARD. 

Paducah, Ky., February 8, 1865. 
Editors "Gazette:" 

The undersigned having received invaluable assistance from the agents of the 

United States Sanitary Commission at this place, during the time that the unfortunate 

sufferers from the explosion of the steamer " Eclipse" were on our hands, would 

respectfully, through the medium of your paper, desire to return thanks to the said 

Commission and its agents, Messrs. E. D. Way, L. Owen, D. C. Petty, and T. E. Horton. 

These gentlemen labored witli unremitting ardor from early morning to late at night, 

in cooking and distributing coffee, soups, etc., to the sick, and furnishing the surgeons 

with rags, bandages, towels, and such other necessaries in the shape of dressings as 

we required. Twenty minutes after the boat, temporarily used as a hospital steamer. 



406 SAI^ITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

arrived at our wharf, they were on board with their cauldron of boiling coffee and 
rich soup, ready to distribute it to the men, many of whom had not tasted food since 
the night before. Indiana owes these gentlemen a debt of gratitude for the exem- 
plary way in which they acquitted themselves of their stewardship. 

Requesting insertion for this, in order to show our appreciation of the United 
States Sanitary Commission, we are, 

Very respectfully yours, 

HENRY W. DAVIS, 
Surgeon U. S. Volunteers and Medical Director District of Western Kentucky. 

SOL. B. WOLFF. 
Surgeon One Hundre/i and Eighty-First Ohio Volunteers, Post Surgeon. 



CHAPTER XI, 



S O Xi X) I IB lE^ S' XIOIVCS, 
DETROIT, MICH. 

I HAVE elsewhere spoken of the Detroit Soldiers' Aid 
Society, the Michigan Branch of the Sanitary Commission, 
and have given some expression to my convictions of the 
indebtedness of the soldiers in our army to the excellent 
and efficient women composing this Society. In their 
sympathy with the occupants of the far-off camps and 
hospitals upon the frontier, and efforts in their behalf, 
they did not, however, forget the Avork that the all- 
pervading war brought home to their own doors; and, 
though the task of entertaining returning or passing 
regiments was mostly performed by the spontaneous action 
of the citizens of Detroit, tlie Soldiers' Aid Society in 
various ways contributed its quota to the grateful duty. 
In addition to this, the Society established and maintained 
a Soldiers* Home, into which were gathered and thorouglily 
cared for all fuiioughed and discharged men who came, 
singly or in groups, straggling home from the war — whose 
arrival was announced by no flourish of trumpets, and who, 
in their wants and sorrows, were objects of pity rather than 
pride. To these the Soldiers' Aid Society performed the 
part of "the good Samaritan" through months of time and 
in the face of many discouragements. 

The history of the Detroit Soldiers' Home is given below, 
as furnished by one of the officers of the Michigan Branch: 

It was not until the summer of 1863 that the project of a 
Soldiers' Home for Detroit was seriously thought of. Up to this 



408 SAXITAKY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERN DEPART3IEIS"T. 

time, and indeed long after, when large bodies of men came, tliej 
were sent to the Barracks or quartered in some building, and 
special provision made for them as they arrived. The Michigan 
Soldiers' Belief Committee and the State agent at Detroit provided 
for individual soldiers passing through, who called upon them or 
were sent by Michigan agents at the front. The hotel agreed to 
take them all at a certain price; but many failed to find it, or 
quartered themselves at saloons, or found no suitable shelter at all. 
The soldiers began to ask why they were not as well cared for at 
home as they were at Xashville and Cincinnati and other places. 

As the numbers increased, Mrs. Hubbard and one or two others 
urged the necessity of making better provision for them. General 
WillaiMi, and the United States Commissary, Colonel McAllister, 
also urged the need of it. Colonel J. E. Smith, commanding the 
post, gave us his hearty approval, and we were encouraged to begin 
the undertaking. 

I should not omit to say that, through General AYillcox and his 
Medical Director, Dr. O'Connell, we were furnished with reports 
and plans of the Home at Indianapolis: we had reports from the 
Cincinnati and Chicago Homes; and Dr. Xewberry supplied full 
plans and details of the Home at Louisville, with blank books and 
forms for the Home records, and whatever else was necessary. 

The first thing to be done was to find a suitable house, for it 
was not thought possible to build. Several were examined, none 
of which were suitable. At last, as the least unfit, the old arsenal 
building, on the corner of Jefferson avenue and Wayne street, was 
selected. Such repairs were made as were absolutely necessary and 
no more, as the lease might be terminated on short notice. The 
house was seventy by thirty feet, with cellar, kitchen and laundry 
in the basement; sitting room, oSice, dining room, bath room and 
matron's room (afterwards used for the sick) on the first floor: and 
eleven bed rooms, with a wide, airy hall, the whole length of the 
building, on the second. About fifty could be comfortably accom- 
modated, but at first provision was only made for thirty — a larger 
number than was expected to need lodging. 

When we resolved upon opening the Home, that at Cleveland 
had but four or five inmates; that at Chicago al)out sixty. We 
were not so much to blame, then, for beginning on a small scale; 
but we certainly ought to have increased the accommodations when 



SOLDIERS HOME — DETROIT, MICH. 409 

we found them insufficient, and to have added another building to 
receive regiments passing through. 

Iso provision was made for the reception of large detachments, 
because we were assured thej would be provided for at the Barracks; 
and afterward, whenever we proposed enlarging our building, the 
repetition of this assurance put a stop to it, although we were over 
and over again crowded with men not otherwise provided for, 
except when we appealed in person to the military officers, and 
then not without mucli delay and discomfort. I do not know that 
the officers were to blame, otherwise than that, after they found 
their own proAdsion insufficient, they should have urged rather 
than discouraged our attempts to aid them. The Quartermaster 
and Commissary, I think, would have been glad to do so. We had 
friendly words from all, and perhaps could not expect more, for they 
were overtasked with business. 

"We had expected to open the Home by Christmas, 1863; but 
work was delayed, and it was not until the latter part of January, 
1864, that the repairs were completed. The carpenters and plas- 
terers were hardly gone, and the floors just swept up preparatory to 
cleaning — no furniture in the house except the cooking stove and 
others required to dry the plastering — when three hundred and 
eighty of the 8th Michigan Infantry came through, on their way 
home from the perils and privations of Knoxville. It was a poor 
welcome, but the men took it gaily. After sleeping in half-frozen 
mud, and living on a few ounces of bread made from corn and cobs 
ground together, warmth and shelter and a sufficiency of whole- 
some food were luxuries. After the first day, however, many of 
them found better quarters for themselves. A few required the 
surgeon's care. One had palpable marks of scurvy, but most of 
the sick had been left behind. This was the first regiment that 
came home on furlough after re-enlistment as veterans, and very 
proud we were of them — some of us, I ought to say, for there was 
little popular excitement. 

After two or three days the Home was again empty ; and when, 
early in February, another and smaller detachment arrived, it was 
in better order to receive them. 

When the three hundred and eighty men, sent to us by the 
military authorities, came, and the Home first opened itself, a 
sergeant and three or four men from the Barracks were detailed 



410 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

to take charge, under us, and to do whatever was necessary; and, 
on application to the Secretary of War, we were also authorized to 
draw provisions, wood, etc., from the Quartermaster and Commis- 
sary. A matron was appointed to superintend the housekeeping 
and to nurse the sick. 

Our housekeeping was not without the usual difficulties among 
those employed. We tried various ways to harmonize matters. 
Sometimes we had no matron: but that seemed uncomfortable^ 
and except for a little time we were not without a woman's hand 
to help and voice to cheer the sick and weary. Much of the time 
there were children, also; which was very pleasant for the soldiers^ 
though probably not so good for the children. 

Sergeants Wells, Smith and Sawtelle were successively appointed 
to the charge of the Home, and I think did their best in a position 
requiring, to fill it perfectly, a combination of moral and practical 
qualities not often to be met with anywhere. Of course, not all 
could be pleased. Ultimately Dr. W. H. De La Hooke, who had for 
some time acted as superintendent of the Soldiers' Home at Jeffer- 
son ville, Indiana, was sent to us by Dr. Xewberry, and had the 
immediate supervision of our Home until it was closed. 

Orderlies sometimes thought themselves not sufficiently well 
treated, and at first occasional squabbles took place as to the 
direction. When distinct explanations to the matron that her 
place was a subordinate one failed to make her understand it, we 
had to do without her, to the great displeasure of some of the ladies. 
The sergeant's wife having applied for the place of cook, in order to 
be with her husband, it was given to her; but she assisted in any- 
thing that came to hand. Some were scandalized at her lively ways, 
and would have dismissed her: but as long as no soldier ventured 
a disrespectful word to the pretty, pleasant woman who made the 
Home so home-like, whereas they had perpetually annoyed and 
been almost insulting to those who stood on their dignity, it hardly 
seemed worth while to be so scrupulous. 

Under Dr. De La Hooke's charge there was less trouble than 
before, partly, I think, because the soldiers did not look upon him 
as one of themselves, while he was unfailing in kindness, though 
maintaining order. A good matron was lacking; but during the 
latter part of liis cliargc, ^Irs. Adams, one of our officers, looked after 
matters a good (h-al. and was vorv kind in nursing tlie sick men. 



soldiers' home — DETROIT, MICH. 411 

During the whole time a committee of three or four ladies had 
the general superintendence of the Home, inspected its condition, 
settled disputes, made purchases, (except such as were made by the 
superintendent,) and reported, or were expected to report, to the 
Society whatever needed attention. There were but two or three 
written reports, and those do not appear to have been preserved; 
but their verbal and informal reports, in addition to those of the 
person in charge, kept us posted as to the condition of affairs in 
general, and often as to particular cases of interest. The visiting 
was not daily, however, as it should have been, nor had the prin- 
cipal officers of the Society time to become personally acquainted 
with many of the soldiers. Thereby we lost much, both in useful- 
ness and popularity. 

The regulations were altered from those of the Louisville Home, 
which suited us better than any others we had copies of The rules 
in regard to expelling or refusing admission to intoxicated men 
were relaxed; they were not sent away unless troublesome or 
disorderly, or (in case of their remaining any length of time) 

habitually intemperate. Mrs. C suggested that it was better 

to keep a man at the Home until he came to himself than to send 
him out to find shelter in such places as were ready to receive him 
in. Some of those in charge of the Home carried their forbearance 
further than we could have asked them, and are rewarded by the 
knowledge that they have helped more than one to keep or regain 
a fair standing. 

The amount of relief to individual soldiers at the Home is not 
fully recorded. Every man who came without clean or whole 
clothing w^e directed to be supplied, unless he could get it other- 
wise; and the number of garments left behind and re-issued was 
considerable. 

The amount of transportation procured is not recorded. At first 
it was obtained through the State Eelief Agent, who probably kept 
no record of where the soldier was staying; and afterward, when we 
applied ourselves for it, the applications were made from an office, 
and we kept no account at all of them except when we paid for it. 
As the greater part of those who applied to us were at the Home, 
what we paid is included in the cash report. 

As regards medical and surgical attendance, various physicians 
were employed, most of whom gave their services, of which also no 



412 SAXITAKY C0MMISSI0:N" — WESTEKI?^ DEPAETMENT. 

record remains, except in the account of medicines furnished by us. 
The superintendent generally dressed such wounds as required it. 
For about a year, one of the surgeons employed at the Barracks, 
but living in the city, attended the Home whenever called upon. 

Very sick men were usually sent to the hospital, and but two or 
three deaths are on the books. The first Avas one of our earliest 
inmates (February, 1864) — the first case, bat by no means the last, 
in which rules yielded to necessity; for we could not send away, 
after the usual three days, a sick boy, with no home and no money. 
So he lingered on for two or three months, full of plans and hopes 
which others knew would not be realized; afterward ready and 
waiting to go — only regretting that his mother was not with him. 
As there were some at the Home who could not go out to church, 
we attempted to have religious services on Sunday afternoons. 
The rector of St. PauFs church was there several times ; but, with 
a general promise to come when notified, some other engagements 
usually prevented the ministers called upon from attending, and it 
cost more time and trouble than could be given. After two or 
three services from one Methodist clergyman, and a lay visitor 
being sent by one Presbyterian pastor to supply his engagement, 
the attempt was given up. The soldiers were invited to attend at 
several of the churches, and one of the visitors of the Sailors- 
Bethel came frequently and took with him those who would go. 

Under Dr. De La Hooke's management we had more help from 
men staying at the Home than before. It was a standin.o: rule 
that, if a man remained over three days, he was to assist in 
anything required of him; care being taken, of course, that 
nothing unreasonable should be asked. AVith many it was more 
trouble to get them to work than it was worth, but some worked as 
faithfully as if they had received wages. On the whole this regula- 
lation did some good in preserving order and getting rid of idlers, 
which was all that was really expected; but it could not be depended 
upon for regular work. 

During the last few months of our occupancy a number of 
partially disabled men remained at the Home while learning trades 
or otherwise at work upon wages which would not support them. 

In December, 18G5, the Harper Hospital Association obtained 
from Government tlie buildings of the Harper United States 
General Hospital, (the site of which they owned,) on condition 



413 

of taking care of inyalid Michigan soldiers. It was agreed with us 
that they should take such as we had taken; that is, all United 
States soldiers or sailors needing help from any cause; and that we 
should supply the funds as long as we were able. We haye a 
committee of yisitors and adyisory power, and may terminate the 
arrangement on sufficient notice. On the 2d of January we gaye 
up our charge, and transferred the men remaining with us to the 
new Home. 

The Detroit Soldiers' Home entertained tMrteen tlion- 
sand seyen hundred and t^yentJ-three soldiers, to whom 
were furnished one hundred and three thousand and 
seyenty-one meals and thirty-one thousand two hundred 
and twenty-three lodgings. The total expenses of con- 
ducting this institution were three thousand four hundred 
and eighty-two dollars and ninety-two cents. 



CHAPTEK XII. 



BUFFALO, i^.T. 

Whether there is something in the waters of Lake Erie 
which gives to the women wlio dwell upon its shores an 
unusual share of masculine energ}^ and patriotic enthusiasm, 
or whether the colonies that peopled this region brought 
with them elements favorable to the development of feminine 
heroism, may be matter of doubt ; yet the fact remains 
unquestionable, that, among the different Districts of the 
lo^^al North which vied with each other in their devotion to 
the cause for which our late war was waged, nowhere else 
were there found quite so many or striking examples of 
woman' s capacity not only to feel, but do, in the country' s 
cause. Happily for us, in every loyal State the warmest 
and purest patriotism was exhibited by the women, and 
mthout the stimulus and assistance which the}^ rendered 
to our army, success would never have crowned its efforts. 
In the District to which I have alluded, not only the femi- 
nine enthusiasm so general was full}^ developed, but the 
part taken by the women in the war was characterized by 
greater independence and a wider range of effort than was 
noticeable elsewhere. I am led to these remarks by the 
fact that at either end of Lake Erie, and on its Southern 
shore, were located three of the most efficient of the Western 
Branches of the Sanitary Commission, of which the active 
members were all ladies. Each of them contributed its full 
quota of useful articles of female handiwork to the soldiers 



soldiers' best — BUFFALO, X. Y. 415 

in tlie army, and in addition burdened itself witli the sole 
management of great transactions in forms of business, 
heretofore supposed to be the peculiar province of the 
sterner sex. 

I have elsewhere remarked upon the skill and energy 
manifested in the accumulation and transmission to the 
army of many hundred thousand dollars worth of supplies 
by these Societies ; but beside all this, a great amount of 
work was done by them at home, in the care of soldiers 
passing through or returning, furloughed or discharged, 
from the war. By each Society a Soldiers' Home was 
established and maintained, and at Cleveland and Buffalo 
new buildings were constructed for this purpose under the 
supervision of the Aid Societies. In these institutions, 
under the management of these delicately-reared ladies, a 
great army w^as lodged and fed, and received everj^ form 
of relief requked by its individual wants — a work present- 
ing such a combination of manly vigor and woman's ten- 
derness, as to fully warrant the surprise and admiration it 
has excited. 

Sketches have already been given of the Homes and 
relief work at Cleveland and Detroit. A similar history 
might be written of what was done in Buffalo. Here, as 
in other localities cited, a handful of earnest women, aided 
of course by male and female friends inspired by their 
enthusiasm, took upon themselves all the care and labor of 
a great benevolent enterprise, and carried it to a triumphant 
success. None but themselves know what difficulties and 
discouragements were encountered, nor is it necessary to 
inquire, since we know that all opposing influences were 
overcome. 

The Soldiers' Rest at Buffalo was built b}^ the ofiicers of 
the Army Aid Society, and was in large degree the result of 
the efforts of its accomplished and etficient President — Mrs. 



416 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTEKis" DEPARTME]!?'T. 

Horatio Seymour. It was located directly in front of the 
railroad depot, and was fitted up with all the refinements 
of hospitality found in am^ of our Sanitary Homes. It was 
under the supervision of a matron, and the tenderest and 
most thorough care was given to all its inmates. 

FINAL REPORT OF THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS' REST. 

j^iimber of soldiers entertained, five thousand five hundred and 
eighty-seven ; number of meals given, sixteen thousand five hundred 
and eighty-one; number of lodgings given, four thousand two 
hundred and eight; valuation of rations received from United 
States Commissary, valued at twenty-nine cents each, eight hundred 
and fifty dollars ; valuation of donations sent to the Rest, and 
articles of clothing and food, from Aid Eooms, two thousand one 
hundred and sixty-four dollars and thirty-one cents. One hundred 
and two soldiers have been furnished with transportation, at a cost 
of five hundred dollars. Expenses of building, current expenses, 
with transportation of soldiers since the close of the Aid Society 
Rooms, three thousand nine hundred and forty-three dollars and 
eighty-eight cents. 

This has been the most interesting part of our work, as we have 
seen such satisfactory results from our care as have amply repaid us. 

Six poor fellows have died there, two of whom are buried in 
Forest Lawn, our city cemetery ; the others were taken home by 
their friends or sent by us. We could extract incidents from our 
daily records which would appeal to the sympathies of every one. 

The following disposition was made of the inmates at the close, 
September 1st : Two helpless invalids were sent to their homes in 
East Tennessee ; two Canadians, cripples, " unwilling to bear the 
jeers of those unfriendly to the cause," were sent to the Soldiers' 
Home in Chicago ; one sent to the general hospital, with ample 
provisions for his comfort. All, sixteen in number, were furnished 
changes of clothing and transportation to their different homes. 
The bedsteads and bedding were sold for a nominal sum, to the 
Church Home and Orphan Asylum, where, in use for the children 
of soldiers, the intent of the donors will be carried out. All 
a\'aila])le liousehold furniture is stored for distribution to soldiers' 
families th(j comin": winter, and the remainder was sold and the 



soldiers' rest— buffalo. X. Y. 417 

avails deposited in the treasury. We hope to make such disposition 
of the huilding as will make a profitable addition to our charitable 
fund. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

Mrs. WARNER. Mrs. O. G. STEELE. Mrs. ISAAC SAXDFORD. 

Mrs. N. case. Mrs. H. R. SEYMOUR. Mrs. HUMASOX. 

Mrs. J. B. GRIFFIX. Mrs. CHARLES RA3ISDELL. Miss :mARY LYOX. 

Mrs. T. M. FOOTE. Mrs. G. T. WILLIAMS. Miss ISABEL HADLEY. 

Mrs. G. W. SCOTT. Mrs. L. D. GOULD. Miss MARIA BARXES. 

The following notice of the Bufialo Home, or Eest, was 
written by one not connected with the Aid Society, and may 
be accepted as independent and reliable testimony to the 
nature of the service it rendered to the cause of humanity 
and patriotism. 

THE SOLDIERS' REST, BUFFALO, X. Y. 

Buffalo, X. Y., is one of the half-way houses for Western traveL Day and night 
the current from East to West, and West to F^t, pours along the arterial railway ; 
and day and night Western soldiers assigned to Eastern armies, and Eastern soldiers 
assigned to Western armies, come to a halt in the depot. Many of them are sick, at 
least not well ; some just out of hospitals are on furlough ; some with legs off or arms 
off, or their vitality sucked out by malaria, are discharged. Hundreds only halt in 
the depot and are then whirled onward in their journey ; while other hundreds walk, 
creep or hobble into the street to look for a meal, or bed, or place to rest, until they 
can radiate from this center to their respective homes. With but few exceptions 
they are moneyless, and with but rare exceptions they are friendless ; and at all times, 
but especially during these bitter howling months of winter, the questions— who will 
give me a bed without charged where shall I obtain a meal without price?— are not 
only difficult to solve, but of vital importance to the brave fellows who con them over 
in their minds. 

Immediately opposite the depot, standing out in a very modest way, as if it stood 
out solely from a feeling of duty, and not a whit with the feeling of vanity, is a snug, 
clean, home-like house, wearing on its brow the words. " The Soldiers' Rest " — 
"United States Sanitarj- Commission." Without articulating a syllable, simply by 
looking and being looked at, it answers the questions in a moment : and to its door, 
walk, totter or hobble the moneyless and friendless sons of Uncle Samuel, to find a 
bed, a meal, or a rest, without money and without price ; to find carpets and chairs, 
lounges, books and fires, which greet them with the genial smile of home, rather than 
with the bold stare of hotels ; and which at once magnetize them into the conviction 
that the Rest was provided not so much for soldiers in the aggregate and concrete, 
as for themselves individually and personally. It is amusing to see how, at first, some 
of them look from their shoes to the carpet, and back to their shoes, as if the one had 
no right on the other; and then how they sidle into a corner where there are no chairs, 
though they crowd the chairs out of the way to reach the corner. And when the 
warm-hearted lady. Avho has been appointetl superintendent by the warm-hearted 
27 



418 SAXITAKY COMMISSION — WESTER X DEPAKTMEXT. 

ladies of the Buffalo Branch, coaxes theiu to give the chairs a fair chance alonji the 
walls, by sittinsr down in them ; and coaxes the weakest to lie down on the lounges : 
and coaxes steaming dishes to come out from the tidy kitchen expressly to be eaten : 
and coaxes the white pillows and sheets to smooth all the wrinkles out of themselves, 
that they may woo sleep to smooth all the wrinkles out of the tired faces— while all 
this is going on, it does one's heart good to see how the carpets and chairs and walls 
nudge each other and laugh at the shoes for their timidity; and how quickly the men 
laugh heartier than all of them as the cheer and glow charm each one Into the belief 
that before he enlisted he built the Rest for his own especial use, but had forgotten 
all about it till that minute. 



CHAPTER Xlll 



s o Xi ID I :e iR s' xaioij^DS, 

X E W A L B A X T , I >s" D . 

Ix 1864 the throng of soldiers passing through Louisville 
was such as to crowd the trains of every railroad leading to 
or from that city ; and the road terminating at jS'ew Albany, 
though less important than the others, received its share of 
travel. An interval of four miles separated the depot of 
the Louisville and IN'ashville Railroad and that of the road 
leading north from ISTew Albany ; for sick or disabled men a 
troublesome break in the connection, and one that occasioned 
much suffering. Kno^\ing that in some degree the want of 
the Soldiers' Home, so apparent at Louisville, must be 
shared by IS'ew Albany, the hospital visitor of the Sanitary 
Commission at Louisville was requested to make this a 
subject of special investigation. The follo\ving report was 
handed in as the result of his observations and inquiries : 

It had been evident for a long time to the hospital visitor that 
^ Soldiers' Home at Xew Albany was very desirable, and at the 
request of Dr. dewberry a definite examination was made of the 
facts in the case, with the following result: From the clerk of the 
railroad depot it was learned that, for the month of March, trans- 
portation had been furnished from Louisville alone to eleven 
hundred and fifty soldiers, only three hundred with their officers. 
The average per month going and returning from all points was 
not less than thirty-three hundred, two-thirds of these discharged, 
furloughed and detached men — about three hundred buying tickets. 
Transportation was not furnished by Government from Louisville 
to New Albany or from New Albany to Louisville, so that men 
without money, unless receiving extraneous aid, must walk about 



4*2() SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPAKT3IENT. 

four miles, and it often happened "were too late for the train or the 
ferry-boat, and were thns greatly delayed, more or less sleeping all 
night on the floor of the depot for Avant of a better place, and that 
without food. The baggage master says: " Five or six soldiers lie 
about the depot every day — there "were eight or ten yesterday." 
The irregularity of the trains was another cause of detention. The 
first soldier met at the depot was asked if he was waiting for a 
train. He said. •• Yes, the eight o'clock evening train." It was 
then half-past three. He was on furlough from a hospital in 
Bridgeport. He was sick, had received his dinner at the Soldiers' 
Home in Louisville, had no money, and knew of no place to get his 
supper or luiicli for his journey : was going to Missouri. 

Tpon the representation of the condition of affau's pier- 
taining to the comfort of soldiers passing throngh the city. 
the hospital visitor was directed to find, if possible, some 
building suitable for a Soldiers' Home near the depot in 
New Albany. At the same time these facts were presented 
to the Xew All^anv Branch of the Sanitary Commission, 
and a meeting of the members of the Branch was called. 
They were offered any necessary addition to their resources 
fi"om the funds of the Sanitary Commission for the accom- 
plishment of the object had in view. They immediately 
secured a convenient building, and opened the Xew Albany 
Soldiers* Home, Mr. D. Snivel3\ one of the most active mem- 
bers of the Xew Albam' Branch Commission, taking upon 
himself the dutit^s of superintendent. The result of this 
Hcmie was the entire relief of all the cases of hardship and 
siiflei-ing mentioned in the preceding report. Constant 
personal supervision was given by the members of the New 
Albany Brancli to the administration of the Home, in order 
that it miglit. as far as possible, accomplish all the good 
hoped in its establishment. It was opened on the 2*2d of 
A})ril, 18()4. and closed A])iil 1. 180."). during which time it 
furnished. t<> t<'n thousand eiuiit hundi-ed and seventv-six 



vSOLDIERS' HOME — >s^EW ALBANY, IND. 421 

passing soldiers, seven thousand seven hundred and eighty- 
four lodgings and twenty -live thousand six hundred and 
thirteen meals. 

Though the existence of the New Albany Soldiers' Home 
was comparatively a short one, and the record of its work 
falls numerically below that of most of the others, yet it 
supplied a great need in that locality, and the measure of 
its usefulness can better be gauged by the testimony of the 
wayfarers to whom its cheer was so hospitably extended 
than by any table of statistics or elaborated report. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



s o Ij ID I E iR s^^ hioimiih;, 

JEFFERSONVILLE, I N^ D . 

The influences which induced the establishment of the 
New Albany Home would have caused a similar institution 
to be opened at Jeffersonville at a still earlier date — as the 
want was similar in kind and greater in degree at the latter 
point — but we were long delaj^ed by the difficulty of getting 
possession of any suitable building, and by the promise 
given to us of turning over to our uses a United States 
hospital located immediately adjacent to the railroad depot, 
and which was every way adapted to our wants. After 
waiting several months for the abandonment of this hos- 
pital — an event confidently expected from week to Aveek — 
in the autumn of 1864, the great number of sick brought up 
from the South increased again the hospital population of 
Louisville and vicinity, and seemed to postpone the accom- 
l^lishment of our plan further than ever. At the same time 
tlie number of furloughed and discharged men who gathered 
around the Jeffersonville depot, and nightly suffered there 
in their delays for want of proper accommodation, was such 
as to make it imperatively necessary that something should 
be done for tlieir relief. So in October, after much per- 
severing effort, the object so long had in view was accom- 
})lislied, by taking a business block within a stone's throw 
of the depot, and converting its stores and lofts into a 
(convenient Soklif^rs' Home. This was done under tlie 
immediate supervision of* Mr. Hushnell, and the history 



soldiers' home— jeffebsonville, ind. 423 

of the inception of the enterprise is. very well given in his 
report which follows : 

For more than a year it was deemed desirable to have a Soldiers' 
Home established at Jeffersonville. Hospital No. 16 has throughout 
the time supplied the want, as far as it could, but it has done the 
work to a great disadvantage, and has not been at all adequate to 
the need. Only those who by chance learned that this hospital 
would give food to the hungry and a bed to the sick received the 
comfort of its attention. An application was made a year ago to 
Colonel Wood, Assistant Surgeon General, for this hospital for a 
Home. He approved of giving it up to the Commission, and 
referred the matter to Surgeon G. G. Shumard, the Medical 
Director, who gave the hope of obtaining it soon. 

More than a month ago, when men were furloughed from the 
hospitals near the front in great numbers, and were crowding at 
the Jeffersonville depot to change their orders for transportation 
to railroad tickets, for a number of nights hundreds of men were 
without shelter or food. 

The Commission then determined that a Home ought to be 
established as soon as possible; and finding that the Medical 
Director was needing Hospital Ho. 16 as a distributing hospital, 
it was thought best to rent some building near the depot, or, if it 
could not be accomplished, to rent some convenient lot and build 
a temporary structure. 

After much hunting, two warehouses were found conveniently 
located, which could be arranged for the purpose at a less sum than 
the cost of building. The Government engineer at Jeffersonville 
estimated the expense of the change necessary, and the Quarter- 
master at the post, at my request, wrote to Brigadier-General 
Allen, Chief Quartermaster of the post, stating the necessity of a 
Soldiers' Home, and the expense of these clianges. The General 
ordered the work done as soon as possible. The few occupants of 
the building were removed to other quarters by the commandant of 
the post. The work of transforming these warehouses into what is 
thought to be a comfortable Soldiers' Home is now accomplished. 

The building is three stories high in front, forty-four by fifty 
feet. The lower story extends back one hundred feet, allowing for 
wash room, dining room and kitchen, store room, pantry and 



424 SAIs-ITARY COMMISSION — ^WESTERIs" DEPARTMENT. 

baggage room; and leaving in the lower story, in front, a sick 
ward twenty by fifty feet, less a small office, and a sitting room 
twenty-one by forty-five feet. It has three wards, twenty-one by 
fifty feet; also one floor containing apartments for the super- 
intendent, steward and detailed men, and a small lumber room. 
It has beds for ninety guests ; has already sheltered for the night, 
closely crowded, over six hundi'ed men. It has a fine well, and 
tanks so arranged that there can be a continual supply of water 
in the wash room and kitchen. A cistern has also been dug, and a 
pump will supply from this tiie laundry. 

Arranging and urging forward this work has been my daily 
occupation for some time. It has not needed my close attention 
for more than a week past, and I have re-commenced my hospital 
rounds. 

Respectfully yours, 

F. H. BUSHNELL. 

The first superintendent of the Jefiersonville Home was 
Major E. F. Smith, previously a Paymaster in the army, a 
man intimately acquainted with the wants of the soldier, 
and full of earnest sympathy with his sufferings. In May, 
1865, he was compelled by ill health to resign, and Mr. 
E. D. Way took the superintendence of the institution. It 
continued under his management until September 1. 1865, 
when it was closed. 

The work done at the Jeffersonville Home was so similar 
in its character to that performed at other establishments 
which have been more fully described, that it is not neces- 
sary now to give its details. Suffice it to say, that it fully 
accom])lished all the good hoped for in its organization, 
and was an infinite blessing to tliose who experienced its 
hospitalities. During its continuance, thirteen thousand 
eight hundred and thirty-five men were admitted there, to 
wliom four thousand four hundred and ninety-nine lodgings 
and twentj^-three thousand seven hundred and thirty meals 
were given. 



425 

During the last half of the time that the Jeffersonville 
Home was kept open, the entire expenses of its maintenance 
were borne by the Sanitary Commission. The issue of 
rations to soldiers entertained in it, which had been made up 
to that period, was discontinued by orders from Washing- 
ton, requiring the Commissary of Subsistence to establish 
a Governmental institution that should perform the same 
work. In these circumstances, Major Symonds, Commis- 
sary U. S. A., proposed to take our building and equip- 
ment off our hands, to which we gladly assented, not 
desiring to do, here or elsewhere, for the soldier that 
which the Government was willing to perform for him ; 
but, upon looking over our establishment, and examining 
the inventory of articles constituting its equipment. Major 
Symonds stated that he was not authorized to attempt, on 
the part of the Government, any sucli relinement of care as 
we were in the habit of bestowing upon the soldiers, and, 
fully realizing the injury they would sustain by the pro- 
posed change of administration, he, an excellent officer and 
kind-hearted man, procured a suspension of the order for 
the supersedure of our Home. And thus the work was 
left in our hands until the necessity for its continuance 
ceased. 



426 



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CHAPTER XY. 



AjS^other branch of tlie work not contemplated in the 
organization of the Sanitary Commission, bnt which, origin- 
ating in a want developed during the progress of the war, 
assumed an unexpected magnitude and became an incalcu- 
lable blessing tothearm}^ and the country, was the Hospital 
Directory. All those who have known much of the progress 
of events in our country during the last few years, know 
that the whole history of the w^ar has been colored by the 
fact that our army w^as in the main composed of citizens 
temporarily doing military duty — citizens who, while fight- 
ing for the liberties of their country with an ardor and 
enthusiasm unknown to a hireling soldiery, still never 
ceased to be citizens, and waited only till the object for 
which they were striving should be accomplished, to return 
to their homes and resume the avocations they had tempo- 
rarily abandoned. From this cause the ties which bound 
the soldier to his home, to his wifi^, his mother, or his 
sweetheart were nevei* broken, and both he and they were 
united in an interest and sympathy that required constant 
communication ; hence tlie number of letters passing to and 
from the army was altogether without parallel in the histor}^ 
of wars ; and hence tlu^ events and fortunes of the soldier 
were an ever-present care with his friends at home, and 
when it chanced, as sooner or latei' it Avas likely to do to all, 
that tlic soldier was woilnded in battle or was struck down 
by disease, his friends and kindred, following his fortunes 
with anxious eye, were X)i'oniy)t to learn the fact and eager 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 429 

to do all tilings possible for his relief. Much of the unpar- 
alleled munificence which sustained the Sanitary Commis- 
sion flowed from this source, and much of the daring and 
endurance which characterized our soldiery sprang from 
their frequent good words from home and the consciousness 
that all they did and suffered was of vital interest to the 
loved ones far away. So every battle sent a thrill of anxiety 
through thousands of communities and families, and every 
important engagement was followed by a throng of anxious 
friends pressing forward to learn the fate or relieve the 
sufterings of those whom rumor or official report had 
numbered among the victims. All military centers were 
crowded with those who sought more accurate intelligence, 
or permission to go themselves to the bedside of those with 
whose lives their own happiness w^as inseparably bound. 
A.S the business of the military authorities was to conquer 
the enemy, to fight battles, and not to furnish information 
or relieve the anxiety of the soldiers' friends, a cloud of 
obscurit}^ naturally hung over every battle field, and weeks 
and months w^ould sometimes elapse before accurate inform- 
ation could be obtained in regard to the fate of those 
engaged. To remove as far as possible the manifest suffering 
flowing from this state of things, the Sanitary Commission 
established a Directory of Hospitals, as it was called, by 
which full and accurate lists should be promptly obtained 
of the killed and wounded in every battle, and received and 
recorded from every hospital, so that the fate and history, 
the location and condition of every wounded or sick man in 
the army should be known at the earliest possible moment. 
This effort proved eminently successful, and the institution 
thus established became a source of varied and unnumbered 
blessings both to the people and the army. 

The first Hospital Directory was opened in Washington, 
in the spring of 1862, and in December a Branch office was 



430 SAJflTART COMMISSION — WESTERIs^ DEPARTMENT. 

opened at Louisville for the Western Department. Tlirougli 
tlie efforts of tlie agents of tlie Commission stationed at all 
important points with the army, lists of casnalties, more 
fnll and complete than had ever before been obtained, were 
immediatelj transmitted from every battle field, and, by the 
authority of the Medical Department, regular reports were 
transmitted from every general hospital to the Directory, 
including all deaths, transfers, returns to duty, etc., by 
which the history of every sick or wounded man could be 
traced through all his changes of location or experience. 
In the Hospital Directory all these reports were classified, 
and the sick or wounded of each regiment brought together, 
so that it was but the work of a moment to ascertain what 
the location and condition of each man whose name appeared 
on the record was a few hours previous to any inquiry that 
might be made in regard to him. By reference to this 
record, by letter or personal inquiry, it was possible for an}" 
one in the country to ascertain with certainty whether 
friends had fallen in battle ; if wounded, how seriously ; if 
sick, in what hospital, of what disease, and in what condi- 
tion. It will be seen at a glance that the information which 
it furnished not only relieved anxiety in the minds of 
thousands and saved its cost many times over to the people, 
by preventing unnecessary and fruitless journeys ; but, 
when it gave information that misfortune had overtaken the 
objects of their solicitude, it pointed the friends of the 
sufferers at once to their location, and told so much of their 
condition as enabled one to decide whether or not it was 
desirable or necessary to attempt to reach them. A tran- 
script from the Hospital Directory record, certifying that 
a certain soldier was dying of disease, or dangerously^ 
wounded, was considered by the military authorities as 
sufficient evidence of the truth and force of an application 
foi" a pass to the army, and by this means thousands of 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTOEY. 431 

fathers and motliers and wives were enabled to soothe the 
last hours and receive the farewells of those who, without 
the Directory, would have died comfortless and alone. The 
special report of the superintendent of the Hospital Direc- 
tory, which accompanies this, will give abundant evidence 
of its usefulness and show the character and magnitude of 
the work performed by it. The want it supplied is so real 
and important that probably no future wars will be carried 
on without something corresponding to it. To the Govern- 
ment the Hospital Directory was frequently of great con- 
venience and value, as no similar consolidation of surgeons' 
reports from battle fields or hospitals was anywhere kept; 
and it was a matter of daily occurrence that missing men, 
through the help of the Director}^, were traced by officers of 
regiments who had long since lost sight of them. It afi'orded, 
also, an important means of determining the fate of those 
who had died in the service, and thus securing to their heirs 
the bounties, pay and pensions w^hicli were their due. It 
also formed a collection of medical statistics, unique in 
character and of the greatest value, as here could be seen 
at a glance the medical history of each regiment in the 
service, such as existed nowhere else. The Hospital Direc- 
tory at Louisville, at the close of the war, contained records 
of one thousand five hundred and seventeen regiments, and 
included seven hundred and ninety-nine thousand three 
hundred and seventeen names. 

REPORT OF H. S. HOLBROOK, 

SUPERINTENDENT OF THE HOSPITAL, DIRECTORY AT LOUISVILLE, KY. 

The Hospital Directory at Louisville, Ky., head-quarters of the 
Western Department of the United States Sanitary Commission, 
was opened January 1, 1863, and closed October 15, 1865. 

In all its generalities, the work of the Louisville office was 
similar to that performed in the Directories of the East, with 
only these differences — that it enjoyed more fully the favor and 



432 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

eo-operation of the CTOvernmental authorities; and, occupying a 
central position in the Yalley of the Mississippi, with its magnifi- 
cent distances stretching away north and south, east and west, 
its lines of communication were all longer. Serving, as it did, 
as a connecting link between the armies in Georgia, Tennessee, 
Mississippi and Arkansas, with homes in N"ew York and Ohio, 
Michigan and Wisconsin, separated by an interval of more than a 
thousand miles, the value of the services it rendered, was measured 
in a degree by the magnitude of the area over which its beneficiaries 
were distributed. 

From its position, therefore, it would be naturally expected that 
some of the most conspicuous illustrations of the usefulness of the 
Directory should appear in the records of the Louisville office. It 
is hoped that such illustrations will not be found wholly wanting 
in the documents now presented. And yet to those who have 
shared in, or even witnessed, the work of the Hospital Directory, 
this, and indeed, any report must seem barren and unsatisfactory. 

The courtesies and appreciative favors of the Assistafnt Surgeon- 
Greneral, and of Medical Directors and surgeons in charge in the 
Western Department, enabled us to procure at once full lists of 
the 23atients in the military hospitals, with lists of those who had 
previously died, and to arrange for regular reports thereafter — 
which continued to be granted to us while the war lasted. From 
these hospital reports — giving the name, rank and regiment of each 
man, with the date of his admission to hospital, nature of complaint 
or wound, date of discharge, return to duty, furlough or death — 
our records derived the information which it was the object of the 
Directory to furnish to inquiring friends of soldiers. 

The tables of statistics in the appendix to the general report of 
the Hospital Directory* contain a particular analysis of the records 
and work of the Directory; and only a brief statement of the results 
they set forth will be necessary in this place. 

Table A gives the names and localities of all hospitals from 
which reports were received at the Louisville Director}', with the 
dates of commencement and discontinuance, and the number of 
reports received from each. 

♦Deposited with tlie archives of the Sanitary Commission in the Astor Library^ 
New York citv. 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 433 

The wide field over which these hospitals were scattered, from 
one to another of which patients were being constantly transferred, 
was a strong element in the need of a Directory, to which the daily 
changes should be promptly reported. 

The total number of hospitals from which reports were received 
is three hundred and eighty-six ; and the total number of reports 
from hospitals is fifty- two thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight. 

Most of these reports are original ones ; the others are copies of 
originals, as made by surgeons in charge of hospitals to the several 
Medical Directors; and from these the books and records for refer- 
ence and use have been made up. 

Tables B and C. — The total number of names on these fifty-two 
thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight reports is seven hundred 
and ninety-nine thousand three hundred and seventeen; and the 
total number of deaths is eighty-one thousand six hundred and 
twenty-one, as may be seen in Table B. Table C shows the 
classification of these names, when transferred from these reports 
to State record books, and distributed into regiments; under the 
respective headings of which each name is entered, with the name 
and location of hospital, date of admission, and subsequent changes 
as reported, and also the date of the report, by which reference may 
be made to the ofiicial source of the information, whenever neces- 
sary — the reports of each hospital being kept in separate packages 
and arranged in chronological order. 

The headings of the reports and the headings of the records 
correspond the one to the other, except that in the report the 
"complaint or wound'' is given under that heading, which is not 
entered on the Directory records. When required, and proper to be 
furnished to an inquirer, reference was made to the hospital report 
on file — the work of a moment. 

These hospital reports are worthy of careful preservation, as 
containing the names of surgeons in charge at given periods and 
oflBcial evidence that may prove essential to the establishment of 
some just claim in the future. 

The names of the patients who were admitted to hospitals at 
Louisville, New Albany and Jefiersonville are registered in books 
the same as used by the Directory at Washington. The names of 
those in hospitals elsewhere, as well as the alphabetical list of the 
dead, are on sheets, so attached and arranged as to be easily bound 

28 



434 SAJ^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

in volumes, if desired; though, before the work ceased, this method, 
which brought together all the pages of each regiment — the current 
sheet being added when filled — saved the necessity of turning from 
volume to volume in search of a name, and proved itself as con- 
venient as it Avas economical. The regimental packs were kept in 
portfolios, each State by itself. In searching for a name, consult 
the records concerning the same reglmsnt both in the bound volume 
and the unbound sheets ; also the alphabetical lists of deaths. 

It seems proper, noAv that the detective skill of practiced hands 
will no more turn over these records for the benefit of inquirers, 
that a more particular account of our method should be given than 
would otherwise be necessary, for the guidance of any one who may 
hereafter undertake to search for a lost man. 

"The alphabetical list of the dead" was designed to bring into 
compact and convenient form, for easy reference, the names of all 
soldiers who had died, to be found in the whole range of our records, 
arranged by States, in alphabetical order, on sheets attached to each 
other, so that, when the w^ork was completed, the final arrangement 
might be in State divisions in alphabetical order; or, if preferred, 
all the names could be brought together in order, under their 
respective initial letters, forming twenty-six parts, in wdiich each 
State should appear by itself. 

This, it was thought, would form the fitting close of our records, 
and, whether published or presented to the Government in manu- 
script, might prolong the usefulness of the Directory, by discovering 
the name of some lost man, and leading to evidence which should 
relieve the w^ants of some desolated household. " Oh, 'tis not the 
dead who suffer," said one who learned at the Directory that she 
was left a widow, with five children dependent on her hands for 
support; "it is the living — who must bear onward with weakened 
strength and be broken down by the burdens entailed by the war!" 

About one-half of the names of the dead on our records are 
already transferred to t'hese lists, as originally designed, A few of 
the State lists are nearly, if not quite, completed. 

To return to Tables B and C, we find as follows : 

Number of States represented on the records 30 

Number of Military Orfjanizations otherwise desifjnated 6 

Number of Ref;iinents represented on the records - 1,517 

Number of Names reported 799,317 

Number of Deaths reported ,- 81,621 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 435 

The foregoing is the sum of the items as classified and regis- 
tered from fifty- two thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight 
reports, received from three hundred and eighty-six hospitals, as 
noted in Table A. 

The name of each soldier reported by a hospital ordinarily 
implied the entry of two items against his name on the records — 
first, his admission; and, second, at a longer interval, his discharge 
from the hospital, whether by "return to duty" or "death." 

Of course, the mere number of names does not show the full 
amount of labor in the daily posting of books. And here it may 
be proper to say, that the employes of the ofiice were, ordinarily, 
through the war, in number six to eight. The daily posting of 
changes, as reported, occupied the time of five clerks. Mr. W. J. 
Duncan, who was connected with this office from the beginning to 
its close, was corresponding clerk, answering the inquiries made by 
letter, and was the efficient general assistant. The superintendent 
answered personal calls and inquiries. The outside work of special 
relief, and visits to hospitals for particular information concerning 
soldiers inquired for, was performed, ordinarily, by Dr. D. 0. Hill- 
man, a man of heart and great versatility of talents and acquire- 
ments, whose name appears in many relations to the work of the 
Commission in this Department. 

In addition to these classified records, we have, arranged for 
reference, official lists of casualties in battle; copies of hospital 
registers prior to January 1, 1863, going back to the commence- 
ment; undertakers' lists of burials; lists of inscriptions on the 
head-boards of " soldiers' burying ground " at Savannah, Tenn.; 
and a list of inscriptions on head-boards of scattered graves about 
Atlanta, Ga., (some four hundred names, not reckoned in this report,) 
collected by Mr. H. A. Bischoff, clerk in the Directory ; an original 
copy of the death register in Andersonville prison, furnished by one 
who was both a prisoner and registry clerk there ; besides printed 
lists of arrivals of sick and wounded at various points; lists of 
discharges, deaths, casualties, rebels and prisoners, cut from news- 
papers, and preserved in order for reference as occasion might 
require. In fine, every scrap of information obtainable concerning 
the sick, wounded or dead of our army was preserved, as containing 
a possible clue or aid in tracing up an answer for the satisfaction 
of an inquirer. 



436 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

With these materials, and other facilities through the agents of 
the Commission for the obtainino^ and furnishins^ information, the 
Hospital Directory was prepared for the service of applicants. 

Of these, there are seyeral classes which do not appear on our 
daily register of indi^ddual inquiries, and hence are not included in 
the statistics given of our work, which yet ought to be mentioned 
in a report of the work of the Hospital Directory. 

1. Xo record was made of the applications of State agents com- 
missioned to care for State soldiers, to whom we fi-eely imparted all 
the information our records could furnish, to enable them to find 
and aid the objects of their care. 

We are happy to say that we ever found in their intercourse with 
this office an appreciative and co-operative spirit. Their knowledge 
of particular regiments and memoranda of personal visitations 
occasionally supplied an omission or corrected an inaccuracy of 
hospital reports, and at the same time confirmed the general 
truthfulness of our records. In a multitude of instances they 
have co-operated with us in assisting inquirers in the accom- 
plishment of their objects. We freely offered our aid to them, and 
availed ourselves of theirs, when, by either agency, the objects 
had in view could be better served; and this report would fail 
in justice if honorable mention were not made of such faithful 
co-laborers in kindred work, and true friends of soldiers, and 
earnest workers for their welfare, as were the State agents of 
Indiana, Michigan, Illinois. Ohio and Pennsylvania, who were 
stationed at Louisville. 

2. Xo account was kept of the inquiries made by the agents 
of the Christian Commission; nor of the numerous soldiers' letters 
gathered by them in hospitals south of Louisville, and brought or 
sent to the Directory, to be re-directed from its records to the then 
present locations of the soldiers. 

3. Xo account was kept of the applications of military officers 
who were appointed to search for missing men, deserters or patients 
in hospitals, and recall those able for duty to their regiments. 

To such our records furnished much valuable information — 
directing them, without loss of time or expense, to the places of 
their search, and recovering many a strong arm to the service 
where most needed, besides clearing the name of many a soldier 
from the suspicion or mark of being a "deserter," when, in reality, 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 437 

found to be a patient in hospital. Officers, in this way, had their 
labors greatly abridged. In addition to their thanks and offered 
remuneration for this aid, they, in return, promptly responded to 
our letters of inquiry, whenever occasion called for them, and gave 
us many an answer that relieved the anxiety of inquiring friends. 

4. JSTo account was made of applications by surgeons, to whom 
our records furnished the means of learning the results of certain 
classes of surgical operations or medical treatment, the issues of 
which were of scientific importance, by discovering the location 
and fate of the subjects on every reference to the books. 

Sometimes lists of such cases were left in the office, so that any 
change reported by hospital might be noted on them. At other 
times the surgeon preferred to keep track of the cases for himself, 
and free use of the books and reports was allowed. 

5. ~No account was kept of the number of soldiers' letters left 
uncalled for at the post office. Medical Directors' offices and in 
hospitals, both in Louisville and south, and also many direct from 
home to our care, which, by means of our records were re-directed 
and forwarded so as to reach the soldier, removed to some distant 
hospital or returned to duty. 

Of these letters, so forwarded to soldiers, there were not less than 
two thousand. 

6. Xo record was made of special visits to patients in hospital, 
in order to furnish more particular information of their condition 
to inquiries by letter, or to those who had called at the office and 
requested, after their return home, special attention to their rela- 
tives unable to write for themselves. 

Much of this last was done by Rev. Mr. Bushnell, Hospital 
Visitor; but usually it was attended to by those immediately 
connected with the office. 

7. Xo account was kept of the number of telegrams written at 
the request of applicants, to obtain information or a military permit 
to visit the sick and wounded in Xashville and beyond. 

At times, passes to go south of Louisville could only be obtained 
from head-quarters at Nashville. The exact designation and loca- 
tion of the soldier to be visited, facilitating the examination of the 
case at head-quarters, both here and there, and the voucher of the 
Commission, given on good evidences of loyalt}^, were cousidered 
an advantage. Though outside of the strict lines of our work, yet. 



438 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

as it was a saving of expense to man}'^ who could ill afford even what 
was necessary, to condense their requests in a few intelligible words, 
and a kindness both to the soldier and his friends, the service was 
cheerfully rendered. Indeed, it could hardly be declined; and 
doubtless many a one, so helped on his way, was stimulated to add 
to the abundance of his thanks an extra donation to the Soldiers' 
Aid Society at home, and told the story of the aid himself received 
from the Sanitary Commission. (If expressions of gratitude could 
have run the Sanitary Commission, the Hospital Directory would 
have supplied all necessary fuel!) 

The number of telegrams sent on account of applicants request- 
ing information and passes cannot be less than twenty-live hundred. 
The copies which were kept as memoranda of the amount deposited 
to pay for dispatches and answers number eighteen hundred and 
forty-eight, which, at the low estimate of two dollars each, shows a 
cash business of near thirty-seven hundred dollars done at the desk 
of personal inquiries. It was probably twice that amount. The 
tariff on ten words to Nashville was ninety cents; to Chattanooga, 
one dollar and thirty-five cents. It takes practice to get your 
money's Avorth at the telegraph office, and many a poor man was 
saved from three to ten dollars by having his dispatches properly 
written and directed. One certainly was "much obliged" who 
worded his message in aboat sixty words, and asked to have it 
properly addressed to Sanitary Commission, Nashville. It was 
re-written for him in ten words. He pondered over it for some 
time — then said he "thought it would do — but it was about as 
complicated as he could do it himself." 

8. In cases where the death of a soldier, ascertained from our 
records, rendered the journey beyond tliis city a needless expense 
to the relatives on the way to visit him, we made out the necessary 
papers for obtaining the "effects" of the deceased, had them prop- 
erly authenticated before a magistrate, and provided, through the 
agents of the Commission, to have them sent home, so that the 
person in trouble was relieved from further care, expense and loss 
of time, and enabled to return at once. Also, when desired, we 
arranged for the procuring and forwarding of the remains of 
deceased soldiers to their friends. 

The number of bodies so ordered through this office, and which 
received the alien! ion of agents of the Commission at Nashville, 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTOKY. 439 

Chattanooga, Knoxville and elsewhere, and were forv\-arded to 
relatives, at home, is seventy-six; and the amount of money 
deposited to pay for burial cases and express charges, was over 
seven thousand dollars. Besides these, there were many ordered 
through us by Soldiers" Aid Societies, the charges for which were 
paid at home on arrival of the body. 

A reduction of five dollars from the regular price, on each burial 
case ordered by agents of the Commission, was granted by the prin- 
cipal Government undertaker, for the benefit of the friends. Add 
this to the expenses of travel from home to the place of burial and 
back, and the amount saved to home friends would in each instance 
be from fifty to one hundred and fifty dollars. In other words, the 
services of the Sanitary Commission Agency reduced the expenses 
one-half — saving, in the aggregate, nearer ten thousand than seven 
thousand dollars. 

But many relatives who had come as far as Louisville, especially 
in cases of recent death, preferred to go for the bodies themselves, 
hoping to gather some incidents of the last hours of their lost ones. 
To such we gave letters of directions and commended them to the 
attention of the Sanitary Commission agents in the place to which 
they were bound. Of these, so aided, there were several hundreds. 

But the full variety of work done and benefits rendered through 
the agency of the Hospital Directory and its connections cannot be 
told. 

Hotels and boarding houses were pointed out, where the charges 
would not consume too rapidly the slender means of the delayed 
parent or wife of a soldier, whose journey toward him was suspended 
till a pass could be got, or some word of news by telegraph or letter 
should determine their course forward or homeward. 

Work was found for others who had only means for going on — 
none for stopping over — that they might not be obliged to return 
comfortless. 

Transportation was obtained at military rates for multitudes; 
for many it was obtained free, on a representation of the circum- 
stances of the person needing the charity; and in some cases 
pecuniary aid was granted. 

The work of the Hospital Directory in behalf of soldiers and 
their relatives, though begun at Louisville, did not end there. 
Those who called, and carried away an abstract from its hospital 



440 SANITARY COMMISSIOK — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

record, with a commendatory line, found a helping liand all along 
the way to the cot or the grave of the one they sought. The 
agents of the Sanitary Commission throughout the Western 
Department were all contributors of its means of information, 
and partners in the service it rendered. At Chattanooga, JSTash- 
ville and Memphis, an immense amount of labor was performed 
in connection w4th the Directory. Between the Directory and 
these points particularly, there was daily correspondence relative 
to its interests and objects; and the efficiency and usefulness of 
the Directory is in no small degree attributable to the hearty 
sympathy and co-operation of the agents, not only at these places 
but in every place where the Sanitary Commission displayed its 
banner. 

All worked for us and with us. To name them would be to call 
the roll of the Sanitary Commission in the West. They were all 
Hospital Directory men, and sympathized with the wants at 
home as well as with the wants in the field and hospital. And 
as they ministered the comforts from home to the soldiers, could 
they do less than was in their power to give comfort to the anxieties 
of home, through the agency or medium of the Hospital Directory. 
Under whatever special name they served, they never neglected this 
branch of the Sanitary Commission work. 

They hunted up lost men; answered special inquiries; visited 
those inquired for; ministered to their need; wrote to their friends ; 
got them furloughed or discharged ; put them on hospital cars ; and 
provided, by telegraph or letters, helpers by the way; all this and 
more they did, in meeting the requests that went from the Direc- 
tory. 

They also procured and forwarded hospital reports, lists of 
casualties and burials; they marked graves; deciphered and noted 
down inscriptions on head-boards by the wayside; reported deaths 
on hospital cars and transports; all this and more they did, to 
increase the usefulness of the Directory. 

But all tliis variety of service, and much other that cannot, even 
Vjc alluded to, does not appear in the statistical account of our work; 
to which we now return for a glance at the results : 

Table D shows the total number of inquiries concerning 
soldiers, and the number of answers returned to their relatives and 
friends. 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 441 

It also shows the State designation of the soldiers inquired for 
by letter ; by which it will be noticed how, from all parts of our 
country, they were mingled together in the armies of the South- 
west ; and the same fact may be observed in Tables B and C ; and 
therein was a reason why there should be a central point, where 
should be collected and whence should radiate information con- 
cerning them, for the benefit of far-away relatives. 

An analysis of the sources of the inquiries would have added 
interest to this table, and shown a far wider relationship. They 
came from all sections of our own country, from Canada, and some 
from England, France, Germany, Italy and Holland. 

SUMMARY OF TABLE D, RELATIVE TO INQUIRIES. 

Number of States represented by Soldiers inquired for. 39 

Number of Individual Inquiries— 

By Letter 5,176 

Personally made 18,829 

Total Number of Inquiries 24,005 

Number of Answers returning Information — 

To Letter Inquiries - 3,815 

To Personal Inquiries - _ -.- .13,644 

Total Successful Answers 17,459 

Total Unsuccessful Answers... 6,546 

Number of Answers reporting Deaths 6,106 

Number of Letters written to and for Applicants concerning their Inquiries 12,520 

With reference to these six thousand five hundred and forty-six 
inquiries, for which our records at the time had no information? 
though valuable aid was furnished to most of the inquirers, it 
should be said that a large share of them related to captured 
soldiers of whom nothing could be learned, and some to the 

soldiers who " were never heard of since the battle of ," and 

who were marked on the company rolls as "missing," many of 
whom doubtless sleep their last sleep m " unknoivn " graves, hastily 
buried on the field or by the wayside, by fellow soldiers or by 
captors. Many of these unsuccessful inquiries were made for those 
who were lost sight of in the first years of the war, or before 1863, 
when our records began. The urgent and fruitless inquiries for 
such, pressing upon the agents of the Commission from every 
direction, was a chief reason for establishing the Hospital Directory. 



442 SANITARY COMMISSION — AVESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

It is not wonderful that so many inquiries failed to find answers 
in tlie records of the Hospital Directory, Avhen even the Goyern- 
ment and official military records could not account to their 
relatiyes for these "boys." The real wonder is that so many 
inquiries did find answers in our records. 

Nothing but an order of the Goyernment, strictly enforced, 
requiring eyery officer in charge of men to report — from the 
regiment, the names of the "missing," "killed" or "wounded;" 
from the Jiosjiital, whether regimental, post, or general, eyery 
"admission," "death" and "discharge" — daily, or immediately as 
occasion occurred, to one or more central points or Governmental 
Directories; only such an authoritatiye arrangement could secure 
full and accurate information of the location, condition and fate of 
soldiers "missing" from the ranks of the regiment. 

Of the necessity and yalue of such a Directory, made thoroughly 
efficient, the history of the Hospital Directory affords ample proof; 
if more were needed, reference might be made to the four long 
"rolls of missing men," published by Miss Clara Barton, now. 
under the patronage of Congress, reyiewing and continuing the 
work of the Hospital Directory. And here, in justice to the Sani- 
tary Commission, it should be stated that nearly a year before the 
list of Andersonville deaths was published under the auspices of 
Miss Barton, it was in possession of the Hospital Directory, 
extensiyely advertised, and its information furnished to the public. 
Now that the books of the Directory and its offices are closed, it is 
but recommending our own work heartily to endorse the continu- 
ance of it by Miss Barton under the appreciatiye approbation of 
Congress. 

STATISTICAL SUMMARY 

OF THK 
W<JKK OK rilK MOSIMTAL 1)IKK( TORY AT I.ol ISYILI.K. KY. 

Number of States represented by Inquiries aw 

Number of Hospitals which have been reported 386 

Number of Reports received from Hospitals 52,768 

Number of Regiments recorded 1,517 

Number of Names recorded 750,502 

Number of Deaths recorded 79,857 

Number of Names on Reports not recorded... 48,815 

Number of Deaths on Reports not recorded 1,761 

Whole Number of Names reported 799,317 

Whole Number of Deaths reported,' 81,621 



THE HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. 443 

Number of Inquiries received 24,005 

Number of Inquiries answered with Information 17,459 

Number of Inquiries answered without Information - 6,546 

Number of Personal Inquiries 18,829 

Number of Personal Inquiries answered with Information - 13,644 

Number of Personal Inquiries answered without Information 5,185 

Number of Inquiries by Letter 5,176 

Number of Inquiries by Letter answered with Information _ 3,815 

Number of Inquiries by Letter answered with Information of Death... 1,159 

Number of Inqviiries by Letter answered without Information 1,361 

Number of Answers sent from Louisville 12,520 

Number of Answers sent from Chattanooga 1,179 

Number of Telegrams sent for Information and Passes 1,848 

Number of Telegrams sent for Special Inquiries 598 

Number of Written Directions and Commendatory Letters given Friends on 

their way to visit Sick and Wounded Soldiers, (estimated) 8,000 

Number of Bodies recovered and forwarded to Friends 76 

Number of Friends of Deceased Soldiers furnished with Directions and Aid, 

(estimated at not less than) 500 

These are the results in figures of the question and answer work 
of the Louisville Directory. But they fail to give any idea of the 
lahor, patience and feeling involved in the necessary attention to 
the particulars of each case, burdened with peculiar and painful 
interest and urgently appealing for sympathy, information and aid. 
One might as well attempt to conjure up the drama of their real 
life from the scattered bones of a strange burial-place, as from these 
figures to reproduce the painful realities they simply tally. Each 
name is the name of a man dear to a circle of kindred and friends ; 
each inquiry bears the interest, anxiety and earnestness of some 
relative. Between the parties stood the Hospital Directory, with 
its records and helpful agents. 

A few facts drawn from its daily life will better illustrate the 
working of the Directory than any general statement or table of 
statistics. 

INCIDENTS A NT D I L L U S T R A T IONS 1-^ T H E W R K. 

An old man enters the office. He has traveled from Northern Ohio to meet his 
son in this city ; he has been told to inquire at the Sanitary Commission rooms for 
direction to the hospital which contains him. While the clerk turns to the books, he 
chats of his son and home, of the different articles in his carpet-bag, put in by mother 
and sisters at home— each had sent some little comfort. He is all animation and 
hope, as if at the very door which is to admit him to the realization of all his happy 
anticipations. The rcco7'd says — "died"— that very morning! The ?'egi.sft'r says— one 
inquiry, one answer. It does not speak of the careful preparatory suggestions that 



444 SAIs^ITARY COMMISSIONS^ — WESTERN DEPARTMEI^T. 

sympathy tenderly makes toward the announcement of the saddening fact. It does 
not show that strong: old man convulsed and weeping like a child. You see not his 
departure from the office stunned with grief. You feel not the stifled thanks of his 
farewell grasp— full payment for all your sympathy and care. He goes slowly and 
sadly away. One of the clerks accompanies him, who procures a burial case for the 
remains of his " poor boy," and assists him in all his preparations for his mournful 
journey home on the same day. The register says— one inquiry, one answer. 

A mother from Northern Indiana has received a dispatch that her son is sick in 
Nashville ; she is on her way to see him : she applies for a pass, but passes for ladies 
are seldom granted, and not without a permit from head-quarters. Her credentials 
are all right, but she is told that it is more than doubtful if she is permitted to go. 
She comes to the Directory; her son's name is on the books; "telegraphing is 
expensive and the result doubtful." " 'Tis too bad," she exclaims, " I have seven 
sons, and all of them in the army. I do not wish them away, but I do want, if they 
get sick, the privilege of going to nurse them." ".My dear madame, you shall go ; 
that fact will get you a pass," and so it did. The register says— one inquiry, one 
answer. 

A sprightly young wife is sent from the telegraph office to have a dispatch written 
for a permit to visit her husband in Nashville. She is quite impatient at the useless 
delay in consulting the records for his name. " She 7f/i07t's he is in Nashville and all 
she wants is a dispatch written, and will be obliged for as much haste as possible." 
"Are you sure he is in Nashville ?" " Certainly." " You would have no objections to 
meeting him here ?" " You are playing with me, sir ; will you give me the dispatch ?" 
"I don't think you will need one. This ' abstract ' will please you better. There are 
directions where to find your husband, a few blocks off." With one look to be sure 
she was not being " played " with, she was off from the office down the street at what 
he would have called the " double quick," and found him not in NasJwille. Had she 
not come to the Directory, possibly she might have obtained a pass to Nashville, and 
gone ; or failing in that would have gone home without seeing him. 

A short time ago, this case came under our notice : A soldier in hospital at 
Nashville writes to his wife that he is very sick, and requests her to come to him. 
The letter was dated the 5th of September. Two days afterward he is transferred to 
Louisville, but his letter informing her of the change never reached her. She leaves 
home and stops over night in Louisville, and goes to Nashville on the 15th. There she 
learns that he is in Louisville. Delayed for lack of funds, she returns to this city on 
the 22d, and finds that he died on the night of the 16th, the next night after she 
lodged in the same city, so near to each other, yet never to meet. Had she known 
of the Hospital Directory and consulted it, this life-long grief would have been 
prevented. 

A father desires to visit a sick son. His statements accord with our record. The 
dispatch written for him explains the case. 

"To Bkigadier General, J. A. Garfield, 

Cliief of Staff, Murfrceshoro, Tcnn.: 

Had four sons in army; two are dead ; two belong to the 89th Ohio, Co. . 

William C is sick at Gallatin, hospital four. Please grant pass. 

J. S. Newberry, Voucher." 

The pass was granted. 

A father from Pennsylvania presents swlctter from the surgeon of a hospital in 
Nashville, saying that his son will be discharged and sent to this city in care of the 



r 



THE HOSPITAL DIEECTORY. 445 



Sanitary Commission, and requests the father to meet him here. He aslis, " Where 
is he?" We have no note of his arrival. " He must still be in hospital at Nasliville. 
But stay ; here is a report just in." The name is there, and died August 9, 1863, the 
very day the father received the letter, and set out to meet him. His son had sent 
him word not to bring more money than necessary to pay his fare to Louisville, as he 
was paid off and had enough. What was to be done ? We loaned him his passage 
home ; made out the necessary papers to get the effects of his son ; wrote to Nashville 
to Sanitary Commission agents to foi-v^-ard them, and he left for home that evening. 

One day six men came in at once, on their way to see their sons in the hospitals 
at places further south. They said they had obtained their military passes to go 
below and knew all about their sons, and did not need any help from the Sanitary 
Commission, but had heard just now of the Hospital Directory, and thought, for 
curiosity's sake, they would come in and inquire. " Very well," said the superinten- 
dent, " If we can't aid you with news it will at least help to confirm the correctness of 
our books." So the books were examined and the following changes found to have 
occurred since they had heard : The first man's son had died ; the sons of the second 
and third had been removed to Louisville, and were then in the city, close at hand ; 
the son of the fourth had gone to a hospital at Cincinnati ; that of the fifth to Quincy, 
111., and only the sixth man had occasion to prosecute his journey as intended. 
Another man applied to learn what had become of his son, for whom he had been 
making vain inquiries for six months. The superintendent took the matter in charge 
and wrote letters here and there to the Sanitary agents, and was at last enabled to 
inform the father that his son died in the hospital at Bowling Green, Ky,, at such a 
date, as was ascertained from the undertaker, the hospital record being lost. 

Similar cases might be multiplied indefinitely, each one possessing some pecu- 
liarity, to vary the service needed to meet the wants of the applicant. But these 
must suffice. 



CHAPTER XYI. 



Ix its first organization the measnres of relief adopted 
by tlie Sanitary Commission were framed, like those of 
Goyernment, for the benefit of the masses rather than for 
indiyidnal cases, bnt. while these as a whole accomplished, 
and more than accomplished, the objects hoped for, it was 
fonnd that many indiyidnal cases would creep through its 
net, and, for want of special attention and peculiar adapta- 
tion of means of relief, would still be left to suffer. It was 
fotind, too, that a larger infusion of the religious element 
was wanted in its work, and that the cures it eflTected were 
not complete unless it could minister to a broken spirit or 
a mind diseased. 

Realizing this want, in the autumn of 1862 a new corps 
of relief agents was organized called Hospital Tisitors. 
These were clergymen or earnest Christian men, whose duty 
it was, as then specified, to yisit barracks, hospitals and 
prisons in the interests of humanity and religion, and by 
personal inyestigation to discoyer and relieye all indiyidnal 
cases of neglect, destitution or suffering. Long before the 
existence of the Christian Commission, (which was organ- 
ized in part to occupy this ground,) our Hospital Visitors 
w^ere making their lounds of inspection through all the 
important hospitals in the West. At one time there were 
thirteen clergymen so employed in this Department ; and, 
thotigh quietly and silently performing their ministrations, 
will be long remembered by those who were "sick and in 
prison and they visited them.-' 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 447 

The liist Hospital Msitor appointed was Rev. F. H. 
Bnshnell, at Louisville, Ky., in December, 1862, where I 
had already established my head-quarters. Mr. Bnshnell 
seemed specially qnalified for this work. In addition to 
his duties as rector of Grace Church in that city, he had 
been almost constantly engaged somewhere in looking alter 
the comfort of the sick and wounded since the commence- 
ment of the war. On the battle fields of Shiloli and Perry- 
ville, on the hospital steamers and in the hospitals ol 
Louisville and New Albany, he had acquired a wide 
experience of the wants of the sick, and of the measures 
necessary to secure their well-being, and had also demon- 
strated his earnest philanthropy and efficiency. Such being 
his antecedents, much was hoped from his efforts, and in 
the amount of good which he accomplished he fully realized 
our anticipations of his usefulness. The following quota- 
tions from his first report will serve to show the spirit and 
manner with which he entered upon his work : 

United States Sanitary Commission. 

LorTSYTLLK. Ky., Febriiaiy 12, 18G3. 
Dr. J. S. Xkwbeery: 

Dear Sir — In compliance with your request that I shonld give 
some portion of mv time as lay Inspector of the hospitals in and 
around the city, 1 entered npon the work January 12th. 

You specified the duties as follows: '•' To make frequent visits, 
as a clergyman and philanthropist, to all the hospitals in the vicinity; 
see if they are kept in good condition, that no abuses are creeping 
in, that their inmates continue to be made comfortable, that reforms 
needed are made, and that supplies furnished are properly applied ; 
also, that all cases demanding our attention and intervention should 
be hunted up and relieYed ; and last, not least, that we may have in 
your reports fresh, late and reliable information in regard to the 
condition of any one of the hospitals over which the Sanitary 
Commission may be supposed to have ' some watch-care, and thus 
be able to satisfy the people that AYe are fully doing our duty/' 
I have only to report the work of a single month, ending to-day. 



448 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

In so short a time I could not take hold thoroughly of all the work 
implied in the instructions, and J have therefore made it my first 
duty to be vrell informed, by a minute examination, of the condi- 
tion of eyery hospital in Louisyille and yicinity, to determine 
whether the present number of patients were in general well cared 
for, and whether the appliances were complete for attending well 
to all when the hospitals were filled to their full capacity. Incident- 
ally, I haye been enabled to do much of the other work suggested 
by your instructions. I haye been guided in my examinations by 
the admirable articles upon the subject published by the United 
States Sanitary Commission, and by whateyer of experience I had 
gathered from yisiting a great number of hospitals in different 
parts of the West during the war. 

The arrangements for the care and comfort of sick and wounded 
soldiers are now far more complete than at any other time during 
the war. This is yery apparent in the hospitals of Louisyille and 
vicinity. Without attempting to estimate the great difficulties 
encountered io establishing the hospitals, or the great work accom- 
plished, in spite of the difficulties in which the Branch Commission 
of Kentucky bore a lion's share, it is yery eyident that their 
present condition forms a most pleasing contrast with their past 
character, not only in the style of the buildings, but in many other 
respects. 

Hospital No. 7 is about two miles from the city, near Park 
Barracks. It is composed of frame buildings erected by the Goy- 
ernment, and yery well adapted to the purpose. This is the largest 
hospital, its capacity being seven hundred patients. 

While yisiting this hospital a few days since, I chanced to meet 
a father who had been hunting many days, through all the hospitals 
in the city, for a sick son, and had just found him. He had learned 
by letter that he was in the city, but, by some negligence in report- 
ing to the Directory of the Sanitary CommissioD, his name was left 
out. The only way left to find him was by searching in every 
hospital. He had been wearily going from one to another for a 
number of days, and when at last they met the expression of their 
joy was a beautiful sight. 

The father, by his visits to the hospitals, had gained much 
information about the care of the sick and wounded, and informed 
me he had been most agreeably suiprised to find how much kind 



HOSPITAL YISITOKS. 449 

attention was given them, and how much real comfort the soldiers 
enjoyed. He had seen the food served for patients at different 
hospitals, and had a nnmber of times eaten with them, and consid- 
ered the character of the food, as well as the attention, all that 
could be desired. 

Hospital Xo. 4 is next in size, having beds for two hundred and 
seventy-six patients. It was a manufactory, and, although it may 
seem to be wanting in the nice ceilings and walls of other buildings, 
this is compensated for, somewhat, by the unusual attentions of the 
stewards and in the general arrangements. There still remain in 
this hospital the green wreaths of Christmas prepared by the fair 
hands of ladies. 

All other buildings used as hospitals have been chosen with 
reference to their adaptation for the pui'pose, and although there is 
great variety in their character, the comfort and necessities of the 
sick have been consulted in the arrangement of all. The least 
comfortable arrangement, perhaps, is one in Xew Albany, where 
the patients are in three buildings, separated from each other by a 
street. But in general I may say of them all that the machinery 
for the care and comfort of the men is nearly perfect. There is as 
great a number of surgeons, stewards, wardmasters, matrons, nurses, 
cooks and laundresses as the Government allows, and this seems to 
be all-sufficient for the purpose. The clean bedding, clean floors, 
clean and well-prepared food, of which I have eaten a number of 
times, have indicated a comfort and care most gratifying. The 
cleanliness and order generally prevailing in every department, the 
breathing room given to each patient, being not less than from 
eight hundred to twelve hundi'ed feet, and the attention given to 
ventilation has been so uniformly good, that I have not in the past 
month met the odor so common even in the best of city hospitals. 
All these facts have persuaded me that fathers, mothers and friends 
■vrho are interested in the sick soldier, or who have a fear that some 
dear one may be brought to these places, of which they have had 
such dreadful accounts, should be comforted by the condition 
approaching perfection to which they have already been brought, 
and the exertions that are continually made to perfect that which 
is yet lacking. 

With much esteem, your obedient servant, 

F. H. BUSHNELL. 



450 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPAHTMEXT. 

Those who have been readers of the San/'/ari/ Reporter 
will have had. in the numerous reports of Mr. Bushnell 
which are published there, ftiller descriptions of his duties 
and better evidences of his usefulness than I have here 
space to give. Till nearly the close of the war he was 
constantly occtipied in this field, visiting, at frequent 
intervals, all the barracks and hospitals in and about 
tlie city, examining, by observation and inquiry, into 
the general management, distributing cards explaining 
his mission, and searching out all individual cases that 
seemed to requii'e his assistance. In the aggregate thou- 
sands of such cases were found and relieved. Sanitary 
stores were distributed to those wliose special wants were 
not relieved by the general issues to hospitals. A shirt, a 
handkerchief or a pair of socks was carried, with his own 
hands, to any one found to need them ; and often articles 
of diet or clothing, not furnished by the Sanitary Commis- 
sion, were purchased to supply a special want. In one bed 
was found a man whose descriptive roll was lost or wrong. 
Another wanted a discharge wliich had been ordered but 
not received, and he had been for weeks or months waiting, 
with that "hope deferred that maketh the heart sick,'' for 
the required permission to return home, at least to die sur- 
rounded by tlie friends he loved. Another was discharged, 
btit knew not how to get his ])ay, or was too feeble to go 
to the Paymaster to draw it. Here was a man hopeless of 
recovery, longing to be discharged, but having no "friends 
at court" by whom this simple act of justice cotild be 
secured to him. Another was paid and discharged, but too 
feeble to travel alone ; friends must be written to, or, if need 
be, a messenger employed by the Sanitary Commission to 
go with liim to liis home. Such or similar cases Avere met 
witli in every ward in every hospital, and the efforts to 
relieve tli(»m fiUed up every hotir of every day. At nine 



HOSPITAL VISITOES. 451 

o'clock eacli morning, Mr. Buslmell reported at the Central 
Office, and all complaints or petitions for relief were referred 
to and investigated by Mm. 

In Ms report of June 21. 1868. lie says: 

My time lias been a great deal occupied since my last report in 
aiding discharged soldiers to procure tlieir pay — those who were 
confined to their beds or too lame and feeble from wounds and 
sickness to attend to their papers themselves. I have been too 
much engaged to make minute memoranda of particular cases, but 
have met with many calling for the greatest sympathy, and have 
often had the pleasure of receiving the liveliest expressions of grati- 
tude, and it is with some difficulty that I can in a kindly way refuse 
their oflTers of money. I have carried to many of the sick their final 
discharge papers, and, within the last nine weeks, have collected and 
paid over to them the sum of six thousand four hundred and forty 
dollars and thirty-eight cents. 

In tlie prisons, tlie efforts of the Hospital Visitors were 
no less a blessing than in the hospital. 

Since the war began, onr military prisons have been a 
fruitful source of cruel injustice to the soldier. A few 
examples will serve to show in what way. A soldier on 
sick furlough, if unable to rejoin his regiment when his 
furlough expires, is compelled to report at regular intervals 
in a special way to the surgeon of the hospital from which 
he is forloughed. Ignorant of this part of their duty, great 
numbers have failed to perform it, and, returning to their 
regiments as soon as sufficiently restored to do so, they find 
themselves, en route, posted as deserters, arrested and 
thrown into prison ; and. though all the time good soldiers 
and loyal men, perhaps months would elapse before the 
truth could be known and they regain their lost status. 
One, for some trifling misdemeanor, is imprisoned ; his 
regiment is ordered off, his case forgotten by those who 
knew anytliino; of it, and he is left among; those who know 



452 SAJflTARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

nothing of liis history and liave no information npon which 
his case can be adjndicated. Another is a victim of mistake 
in identity ; another arrested for a crime long since proven 
never to have been committed. These are no fancy sketches, 
bnt numbers of such, and those still more aggravated, have 
come under my own observation, and are familiar to every 
one who has known anything of our military prisons. 

Tln^se cases have naturally occupied much of the time 
and thoughts of the agents of the Sanitary Commission; 
and there is scarcely a military prison from which numbers 
have not been liberated, who, except for their efibrts, might 
still be incarcerated or wearing the brand of felony for 
crimes of which they are wholly guiltless. 

As an illustration of the value of Hospital Visitors in 
behalf of prisoners, I may say that at one time a large 
number of these overlooked or neglected cases had accu- 
mulated in the military prison at Camp N'elson, Ky., and, 
through the efforts of Mr. Bushnell and other agents of the 
Sanitary Commission, some eighty were brought up for 
examination, and mostly discharged without punishment, 
no evidence of guilt appearing against them. One of these 
cases had been in confinement thirteen months. 

Nashville, which, from the spring of 1862 to the close of 
the war, continued to be an important military center, had 
at one time twenty hospitals and a hospital population of 
tPTi thousand. Here two Hospital Visitors were employed. 

Of tliese, one was Rev. J. C. Hoblit, a Baptist clergyman 
from South-western Ohio, and a chaplain in the army at 
the commencement of the war — a position which he resigned 
to take sei'vice with th(^ Sanitary Commission in February, 
1803. In the progress of the war, the duty performed by 
Mr. Ho])lit was of a very varied character. After rendering 
himself exceedingly useful as Hospital Visitor for many 
rnontlis at Xaslivillc in tlu^ summer of 1864, when Sherman 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 453 

fought his way from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and the emer- 
gencies of that terrific campaign called to the front all the 
force we could assign to that field, Mr. Hoblit took the 
supervision of the Special Relief work, performing a great 
amount of most severe and important duty, and fully 
sustaining his reputation for energy and philanthropy. 
When Sherman marched down to the sea, Mr. Hoblit was 
one of the two Sanitary agents who accompanied the army. 
He performed much good service on the route — among 
other things, carefully collecting statistics of casualties 
and making memoranda of the deaths and the places of 
burial of all the soldiers lost upon the expedition. 

The brief reports quoted below will afford an imperfect 
idea of the varied services rendered by Mr. Hoblit to the 
cause in which we were engaged. 

REV. MR. HOBLIT Ols^ N'ASHVILLE HOSPITALS. 

Nashville, June 4, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Wesiern Department U. S. Sanitary Commission, LouisvilLe: 
Dear Sir— 

Owing to the difi&culty, and often impossibiUty, of procuring 
passes to Nashville, persons wishing to obtain the remains of 
their friends have deposited the money to defray expense with 
the Treasurer of the Commission at Louisville, and the order 
has been forwarded to me to have the work done. I have sent 
bodies in two kinds of cases — zinc and iron; the one costing 
forty-five dollars and the other ninety dollars. The undertaker 
does the work for us for five dollars lower than for individuals, 
thus paying a premium in each case for our benevolent work, 
which I have invariably given in favor of the person, ordering 
the remains. I have just made an arrangement with the under- 
taker to do work promptly upon our order, and at the end of 
the month I will give him a check upon you at Louisville. This 
will save the trouble of sending and risk of losing money. 

Bodies ordered from Nashville have invariably been forwarded 
immediately. In some instances, when remains have been ordered 



454 SANITARY COMMISSIOI^ — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

from Murfreesboro or Franklin, there have occurred unavoidable 
dela^-s, owing to military necessity. 

I have forwarded bodies ordered by the Sanitary Commission to 
the number of fourteen, at a cost of seven hundred and thirty-eight 
dollars and thirty cents. I have sent four, by direct order, at a cost 
of two hundred and eighty-nine dollars. 

In some cases where the effects of deceased soldiers have been 
ordered to be sent, I have been unable to obtain them, owing to 
defects in the order. It is necessary that the claimant of the 
property forward an order witnessed and sealed by a notary public, 
and, having received an invoice of effects, send receipt for the same. 
There are large accumulations of effects in the different hospitals, 
some of them valuables, as money, watches, etc. If these things are 
not called for by the friends before a certain time, they will be sent 
to Washington. 

I have received and answered, during the month of May, eighty- 
six letters and dispatches inquiring after the condition of friends in 
the Nashville hospitals. To this branch of my work I have given 
special attention, seeing the patient, if still alive, myself — receiving 
full particulars from the surgeons, if dead; and have made full 
reports of the different cases. 

The Commission is doing great good in caring for the feeble 
and discharged soldiers on their homeward journey, by providing 
comfortable houses for them in their transit. * * * 

My work is enlarging much in the way of draAving pay for feeble 
discharged men in the hospitals here — giving also needed inform- 
ation about their papers, transportation on their homeward trip, 
aiding those who are too feeble to get on our . hospital cars for 
Louisville. 

On the Sabbath days I have held services in convalescent camps, 
in barracks and among the sick where there was the greatest desti- 
tution, distributing tracts, papers, etc., among the soldiers. 

In conclusion, I wish to speak in grateful terms of the uniform 
courtesy with which I have been received, in my visits in the different 
hospitals, by the surgeons and hospital attendants. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

J. C. HOBLIT, 

Hospital Visitor. United States Sanitary Commission. 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 455 

Nashville, August 1, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Bepai'tmeiit U. S. Sanitary Commission, Louisville: 

Dkar Sir — 
********* 

My work has been plentiful and varied. In pursuance of your 
suggestion, I have visited through the hospitals, looking after 
extreme cases, and giving all information and every assistance 
needed. Besides this general work, I have aided thirty-five dis- 
charged soldiers in the way of drawing their pay, not being able to 
do it for themselves. The whole amount drawn was two thousand 
two hundred and thirty-two dollars and seventy-five cents. For 
these feeble men I have also procured transportation, papers, etc., 
informing them especially of the Soldiers' Homes along their 
northward journey. In many instances I have assisted them in 
getting on the hospital cars for Louisville or the boats going 
down the Cumberland. 

From many similar cases which might be reported, I select but 
one. A boy of about eighteen years, a member of a Tennessee regi- 
ment, had wasted away with chronic diarrhoea until he was a mere 
skeleton. He had been discharged several weeks previously, but 
could not leave the hospital, as he was entirely helpless. The 
strong probability was that he would linger a few weeks longer 
in the hospital, and die. The poor boy would often exclaim, 
most piteously, "Oh, that I could go home, and see my dear 
mother!" Believing, as did the surgeon also, that to remain 
would be death, I determined, if possible, to get him off home. 
After a day or two watching, I found a boat going down the river, 
procured a berth for him, took an ambulance to the hospital, had 
him carried on his bed to the ambulance, and from thence to the 
boat, putting him in care of a kind-hearted man, who was to nurse 
him until he reached his home at Clarksville. After several weeks, 
I received a letter, stating that he was at home with his "mother,'* 
gradually but surely recovering. * * * * * 

There are many discharged men too feeble to help themselves, 
who, without special assistance, never could reach their homes alive. 

I have received and answered letters and dispatches of inquiry 
after sick soldiers, from all sources, seventy-three. In many 
instances, to answer these inquiries satisfactorily required much 



456 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

labor and effort. Tliis is true where sufficient information con- 
cerning the whereabouts of the soldier cannot be or is not given. 
I make every effort possible, however, to obtain the information 
desired. 

Three remains of deceased soldiers have been forwarded, at an 
expense of two hundred and sixty-four dollars. 

Yours, very truly, 

J. 0. HOBLIT. 

Kingston, Ga., May 22, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newbekry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 

Dear Sir — After a very active campaign of two weeks, we have 
come to a halt for a few da^-s. 

In these two weeks, we have marched about sixty miles, and 
fought four battles, in every case defeating the enemy. We have 
lost about five thousand in killed and wounded. It has been a 
series of successes. 

To-morrow morning the order is to march again, and with 
twenty days' rations; leaving all who are not able for a long 
march. 

I have been with the army all the time from the first advance 
from Einggold. At Tunnel Hill, I immediately procured store 
room, and returned to Einggold for stores and helpers. By the 
time the wounded began to come into the hospitals there, we were 
on the ground with our stores. Dr. Eead soon came up, and all 
went on well. We fed hundreds of sick men; also those who were 
sent to the rear; and while they were waiting transportation to 
Chattanooga, we made and gave them coffee, etc. 

At the battle of Eesaca we were promptly on the ground, and 
with six loads of Sanitary stores for those divisions that suffered 
most. Dr. Kead and I rode through the army from the right 
toward the left. Monday morning, on arriving at the 1st Division 
hospital, 4th Army Corps, the doctor remained, and I went on to 
find the 20th Army Corps. This was about one o'clock. 

Coming upon the extreme left, I found General Hooker hotly 
engaged witli the enemy; and just at that time the wounded 
were beginning to come in. I rode down toward the field of 



HOSPITAL VISITOES. 457 

conflict, and discoyered that the wounded were being brought 
off the field by hundreds. (The loss in the Corps was about 
twelve hundred.) I immediately found the Medical Director of 
the Corps, and got an order from General Hooker for three 
wagons, one for each Division hospital, to return to Dalton, a 
distance of fifteen miles, and bring up battle stores. This was 
done promptly; and the next morning, by eight o^clock, the 
stores were on the ground, and were, as many said, a God-send. 
I worked, with all the surgeons that were within reach — those of 
the 4th Corps coming to assist — and also all our agents on that 
part of the field, till after midnight, in making the wounded 
comfortable. The battle ended Saturday night, after Hooker's 
storming and capturing the rebel fort. 

The next day I went to Eesaca and got rooms. The ambulances 
, were bringing in the wounded, to be put on the cars and sent to 
Chattanooga. The cars were not there to receive them. The 
;ambulances must return to the field, by order of the General. 
There was no hospital. There were some buildings, but all were 
filled with rubbish. I got a detail of twelve men, and Dr. Hazen 
joined with me in cleaning out a large building and putting the 
wounded into it. There were no stores, either medical or Sanitary, 
with which to feed the men. Neither were there, at that time, any 
Commissary stores there, and the wounded were calling for some- 
thing to eat. Oh, 1 did long for our stores! But the water tanks 
had given out, and for a few hours the cars were detained. In the 
emergency, I went to the bridge building, and procured coffee for 
two hundred and fifty wounded, then lying on the hard floor. 

The next day. Dr. Coolidge came, and had the field hospital 
brought up from Ringgold. Then I came on to this place. 

We have secured, as promptly and fully as possible, the lists of 
deaths on battle field and of the wounded. 

I shall return to my post at Nashville as soon as my place can 
be supplied here. 

I go out on this expedition with the 4th and 20th Corps. We 
are ordered to take thirty days' rations. This will be a long and 
hard march, and a very important campaign. 

Yours respectfully, 

J. C. HOBLIT. 



458 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Another of our Hospital Visitors at Nasliville was Eev. 
J. P. T. Ingraliam, an Episcopal clergyman, tlien from 
Milwaukee, now holding a pastoral charge at St. Louis. 
Mr. Ingraham was possessed of rare qualities of mind 
and heart ; and, during the year that he gave to our 
work, won the admiration and respect of all with w^hom 
he w^as brought in contact, and greatly endeared himself 
to his associates in the Commission. Thoroughly devoted 
to the service of his Master, nothing but the strongest and 
highest motives could even for a time draw him from his 
life-work of preaching the Gospel. His letters, published 
in the Heporter^ have made him well know^n and, I believe, 
beloved, by most of its readers. For the benefit of those 
who have not thus known him, I give below^ extracts from 
his reports; which will show what manner of man he is, 
and how he served the Sanitary Commission. 

REPORT OF REV. MR. INGRAHAM. 

Xasha^ille, August 6, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

General Secretary : 

My Dear Sir — The last week has been filled with its con- 
tinuous round of daily duties — some great, some small. Not a 
little time has been occupied in answering letters from friends of 
sick or wounded soldiers. Every mail brings some — each eloquent 
in the entreaty that the Hospital Visitor will look up the beloved 
husband or son or brother; see his condition, attend to his 
wants; see if he can get a sick furlough, or be transferred to 
some hospital nearer home and where his friends can meet him. 
All of these letters require an answer — sometimes two or three 
letters — in reply, besides a great deal of time and labor spent in 
searching out the case. Let me give an instance: 

A few days ago a letter was received, requesting information of 
Hiram McFreeman, who was known to have been brought to Nash- 
ville very sick — but a long time had elapsed, no letters to him were 
answered, and whether lie was alive or dead his friends could not 
learn. They wrote to the Hospital Visitor. He took the letter and 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 459 

went to the ofi&ce of the Medical Director, where the record of all 
hospital patients is kept, and began his search over the long pages, 
scanning every one of the hundreds of names. But no such name 
appeared. He then went backward over the list; but page after 
page was examined, until his back and fingers ached, but certainly 
no such name was there. He looked at the letter again, and there 
was strong evidence that such a person had been in hospital at 
l^ashville. 

What next was to be done but to visit the hospitals themselves 
and look at their books; for sometimes mistakes are made, even at 
the Medical Directors. So the nearest hospital was visited, and an 
hour exhausted; but no such name was there. Then a long, hot 
walk, and the books of another examined, but with as little success. 
Then another long walk, and a third hospital record investigated, 
but with like result. Tired out and heated, the thing was given up 
for that day. 

Upon the next (two more letters, with similar inquiries, having 
come in the interval) he starts upon a two mile walk ; for no ambu- 
lance could be had to the largest hospital. Here, also, pages of 
names, reaching weeks and months back, are carefully pored over, 
but without success. He is about to give it up, when a thought 
suddenly strikes him. He then begins a search for Hiram M. Fore- 
man, and finds the name, and, on inquiry, learns that he is the very 
man he wants, but that his name had been misspelt. And then he 
learns that the young man has entirely recovered, and that he left 
the hospital the day before to join his regiment! 

This may be considered a rare case, but yet not altogether so 
uncommon as we could wish. At best, it requires much time to 
find the parties, investigate their condition, talk with them, see 
their surgeons about them, write to their friends, and keep up the 
interest and communication until they recover or are removed. 

I have heretofore omitted to report what, perhaps, I sliould have 
done, viz.: my voluntary services as chaplain in hospitals. I do not 
mean the occasional bedside services, which are continually occur- 
ring, but those of a more regular character. 

There are faithful chaplains here, and some who go beyond their 
strength. But there are, nevertheless, hospitals which, from some 
cause, seem to be quite destitute of the regular and constant services 



460 SAi^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

of a chaplain. All the hospitals are frequently visited by clerical 
tract and book distributors, and who occasionally hold religious 
services. But these gentlemen are generally on short vacations 
from their own parishes in the North ; they naturally desire to go 
over as much ground as possible in the given time ; and therefore 
any good impression that one or two visits to a hospital may make 
is generally lost for want of repetition and following up; or else the 
kindly impression of perhaps one excellent and experienced visitor 
is driven away by the succession of new faces and voices. What is 
needed in the most of our hospitals, I think, is a sufficient number 
of faithful resident chaplains — gentlemen selected for their experi- 
ence, wisdom, and devotion to the cause. 

The chaplain should know, personally, almost every man in the 
hospital; or, if the hospital be too large, then he should have one 
or more assistants. He should visit once or twice each day every 
case inviting peculiar sympathy, for counsel, consolation and prayer. 
He should know how to approach men with judgment and discre- 
tion, so as not to repel, but to draw them; not to shut up their 
hearts, but to open them; not to kill, but, in every sense, to cure. 
He should also know what kind of religious reading each man 
should have, and he should have the authority and control over 
the distribution of it. He should not permit that indiscriminate 
tract and book distribution which gives a tract on dancing to a man 
who has lost his leg, or a book on ''The Wrath to Come'^ to some 
broken and contrite heart that needs binding up with the gentlest 
hand. In a word, his hospital should be his parish. It would take 
but a little time for such -a man to gain the confidence of his 
patients and to have access to their heart of hearts. 

Some of such men have visited our hospitals, and have, in 
barely one conversation, gained the confidence of many who 
longed for their return. But, alas! they were of the iteriijatetic 
order; they made a good impression, but were suddenly gone, to 
return no more; and the poor, disappointed, discouraged sick man? 
after listening long, in vain, for the returning footsteps or that 
friendly voice, turns his face to the wall, refuses to listen to the 
succession of new voices and faces that flit past or stop a moment 
before him, and shuts up his heart in despair. 

I will not enter upon the statistics of chaphiincies, nor the 
mode of appointment, neither* the method of remedy; but having 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 461 

touched upon a sanitary desideratum here — "sanitary" in its 
fullest sense — will go on to report, that in one of these hospitals, 
where there are five hundred patients — there having been no kind 
of religious services, I was told, for two months; no one to bury 
the dead, or administer at the bedside of the dying — at the earnest 
solicitation of the patients, I volunteered to give them as much of 
my time as I could spare. This at once involved Sunday services ; 
and, as the patients were mostly confined to their beds, a service 
was required in each ward, there being six in all. This, in addition 
to a service in the Eefugee Barracks, has been kept up for about 
three months, in addition to occasional week-day visiting. This 
has, at last, however, proved too much for my strength. And as, 
of late, I have, by request, undertaken regular Sunday services at 
the Soldiers' Home, the hospital services have been reluctantly 
given up. On yesterday, however, it being the national Fast Day, 
I held services, by special request of the surgeon in charge, both at 
the main building and in its branch, having a large and most atten- 
tive congregation. 

At the Soldiers' Home, I have good and attentive congregations 
once on each Sunday. There are from forty upwards at each 
service. On these occasions I use the little "Soldiers' Prayer 
Book," which affords great satisfaction, each man having a book. 
At the close of the services the men are presented with the book 
which they have been using. Several hundred have been given 
in this way. For quite a number of these and other books I am 
indebted to the kindness of the Eev. Montgomery Schuyler, D. D., 
of St. Louis. • 

For several months past, I have also held a regular Sunday 
service in the Refugee Barracks of this city, where also a Sunday 
school has been established and kept up. There, also, I have had 
frequent burial services, and many an opportunity of a kind and 
blessed word. 

Very respectfully, 

J. P. T. Ingraham, 

Hospital Visitor. 

Still another of our Hospital Visitors in the Army of tlie 
Cumberland was the Rev. W. F. Loomis, from Slielburne 
Falls, Mass. He was only three months in our service, 



462 SAKITARY COM3IISSI02ir — WESTERjq- DEPARTXEJ^-T. 

when, owing to liis efforts and exposure, lie fell a victim to 
his devotion, and became one of the great army of martyrs 
to which our war has added so many. 

Having previously acted as delegate for the Christian 
Commission, in October, 1863, he was appointed Hospital 
Visitor in the Arni}^ of the Cumberland; was busily 
employed in the hospitals of Nashville, Murfreesboro 
and Chattanooga up to the time of his sickness. As I 
have mentioned in my report of the battle of Chattanooga, 
he spent the entire night succeeding the battle on the field, 
attending to the wants of the wounded, and working most 
laboriously for their comfort in the hospitals afterward. 
His health, by no means robust, gave way under his exer- 
tions, and he died of typhoid fever, at JSTashville, on the 
7th of January. 

Mr. Loomis was a man of great sweetness and purity of 
character ; and no one who saw him could fail to be struck 
by his gentle manner and earnestness of purpose. His 
Christian worth is shown by the fact that his parish in 
Shelburne Falls, Mass., could not be prevailed upon to 
accept his resignation. When he determined to devote 
himself to the care of disabled soldiers in the hospitals, 
he was granted a furlough, but his friends still clung to 
their absent pastor, and expected him home again. A 
man whom we have known so single of heart, self-sacri- 
ficing and zealous, on the battle field or in the hospital, 
could not but be fondly remembered by those who had 
been intimate with him in the pleasant and peaceful rounds 
of village pastoral duties. 

It is noticeable that, on the very day when the remains 
of Mr. Loomis arrived in Louisville, two applicants for 
aid came to the Hospital Director}^, each bearing a letter 
written by Mr. Loomis at the bedside of a relative in the 
hospital at Nashville, fully relying upon his promised 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 463 

help in the trying visit to a strange city under snch 
saddening circumstances. 

Tlie wife of Mr. Loomis was with him through all his 
last illness, and he received every care that professional 
skill could afford or affection suggest. 

At Chattanooga, our Hospital Visitor was Rev. H. B. 
Hosford ; and, serving for a longer or shorter time, there 
and in that vicinity. Rev. S. M. Judson, Rev. E. B. Fair- 
child, Rev. J. H. Hazen, Rev. N. P. Bailej^, Rev. J. E. 
Wilson and Rev. O. Kennedy. 

Of these, Rev. Mr. Kennedy was a clergyman of the 
Methodist Church and chaplain of the 101st Ohio, who 
was induced to take part in our work in the establishment 
and superintendence of Lodges at Jasper, in the Cumber- 
land Mountains, at Kelly's Ferry and Bridgeport. In the 
report of these Lodges, due credit is given him for his great 
efficiency and success. He was subsequently stationed at 
Murfreesboro, continuing there till near the close of the 
war. 

Mr. Bailey and Mr. Wilson were connected, respectively, 
w^ith the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, and were 
from Painesville and Ravenna, in Ohio. They were but 
for a limited time with the army, returning to act as can- 
vassers for supplies in the home held. 

Mr. I^airchild was a clergyman of the Unitarian Church, 
Mr. Hosford and Mr. Judson were Presbyterians. 

Mr. Hosford was, for many years, a professor in the 
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, O. ; was a man of 
fine abilities, large culture and excellent spirit. He 
remained for a long time at Chattanooga, and did excel- 
lent service in the cause of humanity and religion. 

Dr. Hazen was at the same time a physician and a 
clergyman of the Methodist Church, and was specially 
qualified for '"the good Samaritan" work in which he 



4-64 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

was engaged. He was from Peoria, 111., and went to the 
army first as a volunteer ; but, becoming deeply interested 
in his work, enlisted in our service, sacrificing all his 
interests and engagements that he might give himself 
unreservedly to it. Dr. Hazen made himself useful in a 
great variety of ways — at one time physician on the hos- 
pital train; at another, on the battle field or in hospital, 
ministering to the w^ants of the wounded ; and again, as a 
clergyman, preaching in the wards of a hospital or perform- 
ing funeral services at the burial of the dead. A single 
quotation from one of his reports will serve to illustrate a 
hitherto unnoticed phase of the Special Relief work in the 
army : 

United Statp^s Sanitary Commission, 

Chattanooga, March 7. 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry : 

Dear Sir — I have the pleasure of stating to you and the friends 
of 0. N. Wheeler, sergeant-major 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, that 
we have been able to minister consolation to a lonely and heart- 
broken mother, by clearly identifying and forwarding to her the 
body of her son. 

We aim to keep a correct account of all deaths at this point, 
and, so far as possible, to make use of every available means to get 
the names of those killed in action, marking graves, so that when 
friends apply for information we can give it with certainty. 

This, however, had not been done in the case of sergeant-major 
Wheeler. On the receipt of Dr. Bellows' letter, I examined the 
books and found the name, but that had been taken from the 
list of casualties, and the place of burial was not given. All 
we had then to guide us was the statement that he had been buried 
near where he fell, and that the grave was marked. I then went 
with Mr. Read and two other of our men, to the battle field, spent 
all day searching from right to left for a distance of two miles, 
hoping to find the grave. We found but one that we thought could 
be his; but, on digging down to the body, to our disappointment 
found it to be that of a rebel. We then gave up for a time, and 
returned home. 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 465 

This morning I started, determined, if possible, to find some one 
belonging to the same regiment who might know just w^here he was 
buried, and, by good fortune, fell in with an orderly sergeant of 
the same regiment, who was left behind, sick, when the regiment 
moved. From him I learned that sergeant Wheeler was buried in 
the Citizens' Cemetery, with eight of his comrades who fell in the 
same battle. He took me to the spot ; but it bore no mark, except, 
" Here lie ten of the 1st 0. V. I." The orderly then gave me a 
description of his person and his clothing. 

We went to work, opened three graves, none of them containing 
a body answering the description. In the fourth, as soon as we 
removed the cover, the orderly recognized him — hair, coat, vest, 
shirt, pants, shoes and stockings, all completely answering the 
description of the orderly and two other men who knew him well. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. H. Hazen, 
Hospital Visitor U. S. Sanitary Commission,. 

After Mr. Ingraham left us, his place was supplied by 
the Kev. C. B. Ruggies, who had also been a delegate of 
the Christian Commission, and was a man thoroughly 
inspired with the true Christian spirit. 

Like most of the agents of the Sanitary Commission, 
Mr. Ruggles labored in different departments of its work 
as occasion required. Though mostly occupied in the 
legitimate duties of Hospital Visitor, he was ready to do 
whatever most needed doing in behalf of the soldier. His 
services were of inestimable value to the wounded from the 
battles of Franklin and l^ashville. 

The letter given below reports one item of his extra 

duty. 

Nashville, Tenn., March 1, 1865. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry : 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Comrnission : 
Dear Sir — I report the following in regard to my work on the 

battle field of Nashville, during the past few weeks : 

Early in January, my attention was called to the bodies of the 

heroes of this battle, by many persons coming here from the North 

30 ' 



466 SAJs^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMEXT. 

in search of the remains of departed friends. One man — a Mr. 
Bracken, from St. Paul, Minn. — was here for several weeks, search- 
ing for the graye of his brother. After visiting the regiment, now 
lying at Eastport, of which his brother was a member, and getting 
directions from the men who bnried him, he was at last successful 
in finding the grave, although some wanton hand had removed the 
head-board and every trace of the grave. 

While aiding Mr. Bracken in his search. I made a record of the 
locality of every grave which we could find, with the names on the 
head-boards whenever there were any. These graves were scattered 
over a large extent of territory, from the Charlotte to beyond the 
Franklin pike — in yards and gardens, near houses, by the wayside, 
in meadows and tillage lands, in the woods, by the fences, wherever 
the poor boys had chanced to fall — except the graves of negro 
soldiers, and a few of the white, but not otherwise nobler heroes. 
The negroes, some fifty in number, were buried in one trench near 
the Overton Hill; and another trench, in front of Crompton Hill, 
holds fifteen Minnesota boys. The list of names from head-boards 
enabled several to find the graves of their friends quite easily. 

One man, from a town in Xew York, came to a surgeon in one 
of the hospitals here, and asked his aid in finding the grave of his 
friend. The surgeon, in his perplexity, came to the Sanitary Com- 
mission, and, to his surprise, was informed where tlie body could be 
found. The hearty "God bless the Sanitary Commission I " which 
was his expression of thanks, amply repaid me for many a hard ride 
in collecting the list. 

A clergyman from Iowa came for the body of his son; and. 
although he was buried without a head-board, we were enabled, by 
knowing the position of the regiment in the charge, and by the 
accounts which the father had from his comrades, to find the grave 
at once. 

The above illustrates several instances of the kind. 

As the spring opened, and preparations were made to till the 
land, it was evident that many of the graves, if the bodies were 
permitted to remain on the field, must soon be obliterated, and also 
that those near the houses would soon be removed by the occupants. 
The head-boards, in several instances, had already been destroyed. 
Therefore I determined to make an eff'ort for the removal of all the 
bodies to the Soldiers' Cemetery, where the graves could be well 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 467 

marked, and monuments erected over their last resting places, if 
friends desire. Besides, in the removal, we conld examine the 
bodies of the " unknown," and perhaps be able to answer some of 
the many inquiries which are received here for friends who were 
last heard of before the battle of Nashville. 

A statement of the case was made to General Miller, Com- 
mander of the Post, who fully sympathized with the project, and 
immediately made an arrangement with Mr. Cornelius, the Govern- 
ment undertaker, to remove the bodies of all Union soldiers, under 
the superintendence of the Sanitary Commission. 

The work is now going on ; some fifty bodies have already been 
removed, and in one or two weeks it Avill be completed. The bodies 
are taken up, and a record is made of everything which will help 
friends to recognize them. I select a few names from the record, to 
illustrate : 

Unknown soldier — brown hair, full beard, cavalryman, shot in 
side by shell, five feet eight inches high, aged about twenty-two; 
buried to the left of Hillsboro' pike, near I. Compton's; body 
covered with tent cloth. A gum blanket, near grave, was marked 
"W. Hall, [or Hale,] 100th 0. Y. I.'' No. of grave, 12,274. 

UnknoAvn officer — buried beside lane leading to Casmon's house; 
officer's blouse, staff" buttons, five feet five inches high, light hair, 
heavy mustache, small goatee, rest of face smooth, checked muffler 
about the neck, buried in box; reported by negroes to have died 
the night of the 15th of December, and to have been buried by a 
friend, who called him Captain. 'No. of gra^e, 12,275. 

J. Henry, 8th Wisconsin, Co. F — buried near Castleman's place. 
Head-board was marked with his wife's address, viz.: "Mrs. J. 
Henry, Yiroqua, Vernon Co., Wis." No. of grave, 12,276. 

Each body, as it is taken up, is placed in a neat coffin, the same 
as those used in burying from the hospitals, and laid in a separate 
grave, in a square set apart for the Nashville heroes. The graves 
are numbered in order with all others buried from the hospitals. 
I think the number of bodies will not much exceed two hundred. 

When this work at Nashville is completed, we hope to get the 
same done at Franklin. A request has already been sent to General 
Thomas for the order, but his action is not yet known. 

Respectfully yours, 

C. B. RuctGLES. 



468 SAlflTARY C031MISSI0X — WESTERN DEPARTMEJs^T. 

At Camp jSTelson our Hospital Visitor was Rev. A, L. 
Paysoii, who previously held a commission as chaplain. 

At Memj)his Rev. Robert A. Grant, professor in the 
Christian University at Canton, Mo., held the place of 
Hospital Visitor for a number of months ; and, on his 
retirement, Mr. George G. Carter, son of the late Rev. 
Lawson Carter, D. D., of Cleveland, O., a theological 
student, succeeded him. 

Some reports of Professor Grant and Mr. Payson are 
cited below, as illustrations of the work done at these 
points. 

At Cairo Rev. E. Folsom for a long time performed the 
duties of Hospital Visitor, though not bearing that title. 
He subsequently received a chaplain's commission, and 
devoted himself exclusively to the interests of freedmen 
and refugees. He labored for their welfare with great 
success, individually collecting more than thirty thousand 
dollars, which were disbursed for their benefit. 

Camp Nelson, x\no^iist 1, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secreiarji Wesiern Department U. S. SanHary Commission : 

Dear Sir — My labors have been so varied and disconnected 
the past month that it is somewhat difficult for me to send you 
a regular report of my immediate labors. 

Since the colored troops came, until their organization, we 
have had our hands full. Our labors have been unremitting 
and arduous. 

Since their organization they have been put in camp. Means 
were at once instituted to give them regular instruction; which 
has been continued, though necessarily with more or less inter- 
ruption. 

It is iruly astonishing to witness the rapid progress they have 
made. In some instances they have learned the alphabet in fifty- 
five minutes, and in forty-eight hours have been able to read 
short sentences. Could they have remained in the camp, under 
the influence instituted, there was every indication that they would 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 469 

haye made great improyement. For their encouragement, special 
hours were selected for writing: letters for them. 

The efforts expended in their behalf haye resulted in great 
good, and fully establish the fact of the aptness of the colored 
man to learn to read and write. 

In carefully yisiting the two infantry regiments organized, I 
found that in the 114th there were one hundred and eighty-fiye able 
to read in the IS'ew Testament — in the 116th (now in camp here) 
one hundred and thirty-two. Being deeply interested in the welfare 
of these men, I haye deyoted a portion of each day (in connection 
with Eey. J. G. Fee, a most deyoted man) to the interests of the 
colored troops, in laying the foundation for their future adyance- 
ment in knowledge. 

My labors among the refugees haye increased during the past 
month. These circumstauces haye been such as to demand the 
attention of some one to meet their yaried and multiplied wants. 
Respectfully yours, 

A. L. Patsoi^, 

Hospital Visitor. 

Memphis, Tenn., November 22, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — I find hospital yisiting more pleasant now than it 
was during the summer. At that time I found the hospitals so 
crowded, so many patients were being sent North, and the time 
occupied in going through the different hospitals was so great, 
that often, on returning to my beginning point, I found that 
many of my old acquaintances were gone, and new and strange 
faces occupied their places. 

At present, our army general hospitals only contain about 
thirteen hundred patients; and as there no longer exists a neces- 
sity for sending them North, I haye tried to attend to the wants of 
all, and relieye them as far as possible. All the patients know my 
face and name, and the pleased expression that lights up their faces 
w^hen I enter a ward shows plainly that they are glad to see me. A 
sick soldier told me to-day he knew^ my step before I entered the 
room. 

We meet with many incidents eyery day, interesting to us here, 
which, if narrated, would appear tame and insignificant to our 



470 SAK^ITAKY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

friends in the Northern States. Those who are living in the 
midst of plenty, and can relieve every want, cannot form an 
adequate conception of the difficulty of getting even little things 
here, nor how highly they are prized when obtained. It is passing 
strange, yet true as strange, that so much of our happiness in life is 
made up of what the world calls "little things.'' Ingratitude can 
never be charged against our sick soldiers; at least, I have ever 
found them grateful for even the smallest favors. They evidently 
regard the Sanitary agents as their friends, and treat them accord- 
ingly. The'"pleasure with which they greet the Hospital Visitor, 
when he enters a ward, shows they are not forgetful. A few of the 
most usual conversations I will give you, as concisely as possible : 

" Mr. Grant, I tried to T\Tite to my mother, but I am too weak, 
and my hand shakes so. Will you write a few lines for me?" 
" Certainly." In a few minutes the letter is written and dispatched. 
" I am very much obliged to you, sir. I was so much afraid it would 
be a long time before my mother could hear from me." His next 
neiglibor, perhaps, then says : " Doctor, I want a letter written, but 
haven't any paper or envelopes." "Well, I have plenty." And 
straightway the stationery is produced, and the letter written. I 
always visit the hospitals armed with such materials. 

Passing along, and greeting each one with a cheerful word, we 
come to a man, very thin, but apparently doing well. " How do 
you do to-day, my friend ? " Stretching his hand out, with a smile, 
" Oh, I am doing first rate now. That farina you sent me was just 
what I wanted, and Aunt Lizzie did fix it up so nice." "That 's so," 
said his neighbor. I suppose the latter was joint partaker of the 
gift. After telling them that the gratitude they were showering 
upon me was all due to the United States Sanitary Commission, I 
passed on to others. 

Here is a poor fellow whose restless manner and despondent 
countenance betoken a mind ill at ease. " How do you do to-day ? " 
" Very badly ; I think I am much worse." "Ah ! that is strange. 
I thought you were getting much better," "Yes, 1 was; but I 
have been thinking about how wicked I have been, and all is so 
dark, I am afraid the Lord has cast me off forever. I think about 
it so much at night I can't sleep." Taking the Holy Scriptures 
from his pocket, the Hospital Visitor sits down, and explains to 
liim, ill a few and i)ointed words, the nature of Christianity and 



HOSPITAL VISITORS. 471 

the requirements of our Heavenly Father, showing him that thus 
the apostles of our holy religion taught; and the work is done. 
He no longer gropes in darkness, but sees his way clearly, and is 
comforted. Many sucli cases have I met with here, and I have 
always found the above i-emedy effectual. They always ask me to 
pray with them, and, of course, this request is never denied. This 
is no fancy sketch, but a constantly recurring fact. 

Only two days ago, I found the exact counterpart of what is 
Avritten above. He had sent for me to come to see him. Before 
the conclusion of the conversation, quite a number of the con- 
valescents had gathered around, and were listening with intense 
interest to what was being said. As I was taking leave of him, 
the sick man said: -^I am so glad you came to see me. I cannot 
tell you how much your words have comforted me; bat I will 
never forget it." As I was walking away, I heard one man say: 
•'I believe the Sanitary Commission has forgotten nothing that 
could do us good." I turned to him, with a smile, and said: 
'*^That is true, my brother, and I wish you never to forget it. 
But there is another truth you must remember, and that is, God 
puts it into the minds of good men and women to establish the 
vSanitary Commission, and to Him you owe all the blessings you 
have received." A single sentence will sometimes accomplish as 
much as a long sermon. 

These are a few, and only a few, of the scenes met Avith daily in 
our hospitals. They could be detailed almost without number, but 
I will call your attention to only one other case : 

Here is a man whose looks indicate that he is getting well. 
"How are you getting along to-day?" "Oh, I am doing well, 
but I do want something wofully bad." "Well, why don't you 
get it?" "I have not a cent of money, and cannot get any, for my 
descriptive roll is in Missouri with my regiment." "Well, what is 
it? — perhaps I can get it for you." "I wish you would, sir. It is 
only a little tobacco. I am ashamed to ask you to get it for me, but 
I have got so in the habit of using it that I don't know how to do 
without it." This is a very common request, and the desire of con- 
valescents for tobacco is so great as to seem absurd to one w^ho has 
never been in the habit of using it. I am not going to say anything 
in favor of its use, or of its moral or health-producing qualities, for 
I do not believe in anv such nonsense; but I do think when a man 



4:72 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

is recovering from a spell of sickness is not the time proper to break 
him of the habit, and I belieye a little tobacco, judiciously distrib- 
uted to such, would be productive of good. 

Some difficulties are met with which baffle all efforts to remove 
them. If there is a remedy for the following difficulty, I would be 
glad to know it. 

Here is a man who has been sick a long time, and is very weak 
and emaciated. He is longing for home and its comforts. The 
surgeon thinks a furlough would be the best remedy, and the most 
effective means of restoring his health, and is willing to grant it- 
But the man is too feeble to go on deck, and cannot get cabin trans- 
portation from Government. He has no money with which to pay 
his passage, and cannot get it, because his descriptive roll is hun- 
dreds of miles away, with his regiment. There are several such 
cases here at this time. Is there a remedy ? 

Very respectfully, 

R. A. Grant, 

Hospital Visitor. 

The following extracts give a pleasant glimpse of some 
of the secluded details of Sanitary operations in the field. 
They are from letters written by a clergyman from Cali- 
fornia, and are dated ''Louisville and jN'ashville Railroad 
Train, Xovember 27th, 1863:'' 

The Commission's Hospital Visitor at Nashville is a veiy modest gentleman. 
Any incident which brings in himself as one of the actors is a contraband topic of 
conversation. But "Yours Truly" isn't a bit modest, believing that in many cases 
brass is better than brains, and, acting upon the aforesaid principle, succeeded in 
drawing forth the living eloquence of which the following is but a lifeless, flesh- 
less skeleton: 

Away up in the fourth story of Hospital No. 8, and in the far corner of the 
ward, he noticed one day an old lady sitting by the side of a mere lad, who was 
reduced to the verge of death by chronic diarrhoea. She was a plain, honest-hearted 
farmer's wife, her face all aglow with motherly love, and, to judge from appear- 
ances, had likely never before traveled beyond the limits of her neighborhood, but 
now had come many a long mile to do what might be done for her boy. In the 
course of a conversation, she informed Mr. Ingraham that if she could "only get 
something that tasted like home— some good tea, for instance, which she could 
make herself, and which would be better than that of the hospital— she thought 
It might save her son's life." Of course it was sent to her, and on a subsequent 
visit she expressed her thanks, in a simple, hearty way, quite in keeping with her 
whole appearance. 



HOSPITAL YiSCTORS. 473 

Still she seemed sad ; something was on lier mind tliat evidently troubled her, 
and, like Banquo's ghost, "'would not down." At length it came out, in a confiding, 
innocent Avay— more, evidently, because it was uppermost in her thoughts than for 
the purpose of receiving sympathy— that her means were about exhausted. "1 
didn't think it .would take so much money. It is so much further away from h;>ir.e 
than I had thought, and hoard is so very high, that I have hardly enough left to 
take me back, and by another week I will have to leave him. I have been arouiui 
to the stores to buy some little things that he would eat — for he can't eat this 
strong food— but the prices are so high that I can't buy them ; and I am afraid 
that if I go away, and if he doesn't get something different to eat, that maybe— " 
and the tears trickled down her cheeks— "he won't— be so well." 

Mr. Ingraham, who is an Episcopal minister of the warmest-hearted kind, 
thought that difficulty might be overcome ; and, if she would put on her bonnet, 
they would go to a store where articles were cheap. 

Accordingly they arrived in front of the three-story building which Govern- 
ment has assigned to the Commission, and the old lady was soon running her eyes 
over long rows of boxes, bales and barrels that stretched for a hundred feet down 
the room, but was most fascinated by the bottles and cans on the shelves. He 
ordered a supply of sugar, tea, soft crackers and canned fruit; then chicken and 
oysters; then jelly and wine, brandy, milk and underclothing — until her basket 
was full. As the earlier articles nestled under its lids, her face was glowing with 
satisfaction ; but as the latter lots arrived, she would draw him aside to whisper 
that it was "too much— really she hadn't enough money;" and when the more 
expensive items came from the shelves, the shadow of earnestness which gloomed 
her countenance grew into one of perplexity, her soul vibrating between motherly 
yearning for the lad on his bed and the scant purse in her pocket, until, with great 
reluctance, she began to return the costliest. 

"Hadn't you better ask the price?" said her guide. "How much is it?" 
''Nothing," replied the storekeeper. "Sir?" queried she, in the utmost amaze- 
ment, '■'■ nothing for all this?" "My good woman," asked the guide, "have you a 
Soldiers' Aid Society in your neighborhood?" Yes, they had; she belonged to it 
herself. "Well, what do you suppose becomes of the garments you make and the 
fruits you put up?" She hadn't thought; she supposed they went to the army; 
but was evidently bothered to know what connection there could be between their 
Aid Society and that basket. "These garments that you see came from your 
Society or other Societies just like yours ; so did those boxes and barrels ; that 
milk came from New York; those fruits from Boston; that wine was likely pur- 
chased with gold from California; and it is all for sick soldiers— your son as much 
as any one else. This is the United States Sanitary Commission store house ; you 
must come here whenever you wish, and call for everything you want; and you 
must stay with your son until he is able to go home. Never mind 5'our money's 
giving out; you shall have inore, which, when you get back, you can refund for 
the use of other mothers and other sons. When you are ready to go, I will put 
him in a berth where he can lie down ; and you shall save his life yet I " 

She did— God bless her innocent, motherly heart !— when nothing but motherly 
care could have achieved it ; and when last seen— on a dismal, drizzly morning- 
was, with her face beaming out the radiance of hope, making tea on the stove of 
a caboose car for the convalescent, who was snugly tucked away in the caboose 
berth, waiting the final whistle of the locomotive that would speed them both 
homeward. 

YouKS Truly. ' 



CHAPTER XVil. 



The transportation of the sick and wounded of an army 
from battle field to hospital, from front to reai-, and from 
hospital to hospital, is so imx)ortant and necessary a duty 
that it might naturally be expected that adequate provision 
would, under all circumstances, be made for it. But as the 
war in which we liave been engaged grew" step by step from 
an insignificant beginning, and no one at the outset had any 
conception of the magnitude to which it would expand, it 
w^as impossible to provide beforeliand, in this or au}^ other 
department of the medical service, sucli measures and 
means as would fully meet every emergeiicy when it arose. 

In regard to the transportation of the sick and Avoiinded 
by water I have already spoken, and have sliown how the 
want of good floating hospitals, so severely f(\lt at the 
battles of Fort Donelson and Pittsburg Landing, was sub- 
sequently supplied througli steps taken by the Medical 
Department. In the transportation of sick and wounded on 
land the Government authorities were not equally prompt 
and efficient. In accordance with the time-hallowed ideas 
which controlled all military movements at tin? beginning of 
the war, ambulances were supposed to constitute the only 
proper means for the transportation of invalid soldiers, and 
great numbers of these were constructed of various patterns, 
many of which were ill-contrived and ill -made, and remained 
as part of the permanent sto(;k at every militarj^ depot. It 
was found, however, that, in military operations, as well as 
civil life, in many instances railroads offered great advan- 
tage's over wagons or carriages drawn by horses. Railroads 



HOSPITAL. CARS. 475 

were largely employed in the transportation of troops and 
mnnitions of war, and nltimately railroads were, wherever 
possible, brought into play for the overland transportation 
of sick and wounded. But while the freight and passenger 
cars in common use before the war supplied all necessary 
means of transportation of troops, baggage and supplies, 
no cars were found adapted to the transportation of men 
incapable of sittiiig upriglit, and though, for want of better, 
the nearly springless box cars of freight trains were exten- 
sively used for this purpose, the suifering entailed by their 
unfitness upon those transported in them was such that few^ 
who have experienced it will soon forget it. Ver}^ early in 
the war the attention of the agents of the Sanitarj^ Commis- 
sion was drawn to the necessity of providing some means 
by which railroad transportation could be better adapted 
to the wants of our sick and wounded in the army. 

At the battle of Perry ville, Ky., in October, 1862, over 
twenty-five hundred men were wounded and left to be 
cared for in a country almost entirely stripped of resources, 
and where their wants could at best be but inadequately 
supplied. As rapidly as possible tliese men were trans- 
ferred to Louisville, where supplies were abundant and 
ampler hospital accommodations existed, and the first 
hospital cars used in the country were employed in convey- 
ing them over such portions of the route as were traversed 
by railroad tracks. The cars used at this time were fitted 
up by the Sanitary Commission, and consisted of ordinary 
freight cars, the only ones at hand, in which tiers of bunks 
were placed on each side, and in these bunks mattresses 
and other bedding were placed, and thus soft and comfort- 
al)le beds were formed. Imperfect as these cars were, they 
served so good a purpose that another train was soon after 
fitted up much in the same way and used in the transporta- 
tion of the sick and wounded from Nashville, Avhicli was 



476 SAIS^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

then a great and crowded liospital center, to Louisville. 
As no authority resided in the medical officers to organize 
hospital railroad trains, the transportation of the sick and 
wounded over this route was left exclusively in the hands 
of the Sanitary Commission for a year and more, Avith such 
benefit to the service and relief to the medical authorities as 
to lead Dr. Thurston, the Medical Director at Nashville, to 
publicly express his acknowledgments to the Commission 
and characterize the transj)ortation of the sick and Avounded 
by hospital cars as the best work it liad done. 

Meantime this subject had engaged the attention of the 
representatives of the Sanitar}^ Commission in the East, and, 
principally through the efforts of Dr. Elisha Harris, a. 
hospital car or railroad ambulance was devised, so complete 
in its appointments and so nicely adjusted to the transpor- 
tation of sick and wounded men that even the worst class of 
medical and surgical cases could be carried in it hundreds 
of miles without risk or sufiering. Of tliese cars a number 
were constructed at the East, and they are fully described 
in the Sanitary Commission BvlleUn. 

These cars w^ere provided with steel and rubber springs, 
in the same manner as the most luxurious passenger 
coaches in use. In addition to tlies(\ the cots upon which 
the patients were carried were suspended on rubber loops, 
so that tlie jar of the car was almost unfelt and the motion 
experienced was so easy and ^enth^ as to be rather agreeable 
than otherwise. After the command of the Army of the 
Cumberland devolved upon General Eosecians, with char- 
acteristic enlightenment he authorized the construction of a 
train of these railroad ambulances. These w^ere fitted up 
at Columbus, Ohio, and Averc ])laced upon the road in the 
autumn of IHOIJ. 

In 18(54 another tiaiii of hospital cai's was built at Nash- 
ville by ordiT of (icriPial (xraiit. These wei'e made upon 



HOSPITAL CABS. 477 

the same general plan as thost.^ already described, but 
somewhat simplified, cheapened and improved. As in the 
former case, they were constrncted under the supervision 
of the Sanitary Commission, and a considerable portion of 
the expense was paid from its treasury. In the spring of 
1864 the entire resiDonsibility of the transportation of the 
sick was assumed, as it should long before have been, by 
the Medical Department. Still a number of the attendants 
employed upon the hospital cars were paid by the Sanitary 
Commission, and the trains continued to the close of the 
Avar to recei^'e much of their equipment and a large part of 
their supplies from the same source. A picture of this 
interesting branch of the work of the Sanitary Commission 
is given in the subjoined report of Dr. J. P. Barnum, who, 
first in the employment of the Sanitar}^ Commission, but 
later in the service of the Government, had the principal 
supervision and responsibility of land transportation of 
sick and wounded at the West, and to whom more than to 
any one else the great success attending the enterprise is 
due. 

DR. B A E X U M ' S REPORT. 

February, 1864. 

A hospital train was fitted up in this Department by the 
Commission in October, 1862, and although rude in its accom- 
modations, such satisfactory results were attained that a second 
and third were added and the "cooking arrangements somewhat 
improved. These cars, by one casualty and another, have all been 
rendered unsuitable and given place to more perfect anS. substantial 
ones. At present there are in use nine hospital cars — seven on the 
Chattanooga road, under the charge of Dr. Myers, Surgeon JJ. S. V., 
and two under my own immediate supervision on the Louisville 
road. 

The train on the Kashville and Chattanooga railroad consists of 
one passenger, one mail, three box and three hospital cars. The 
passenger coach is kept scrupulously neat for the accommodation 
of patients alone, and by a special arrangement of seats can be 



478 SANITARY COMMISSIOK — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

changed in a few moments to a bed car if necessary, which, however, 
cannot often occur, as every load of sick will contain some who 
would prefer to sit. 

The mail car is fitted up for store room, office and kitchen. 
The store room is provided with drawers for all the smaller supplies, 
locker for bread, refrigerator for meat, ice box, water casks, etc., etc. 
Indeed, there is room for one thousand rations, beside some 
Sanitary stores, with space to spare. 

The office is neatly fitted up. The kitchen occupies the place 
of the baggage room, where may be found several disciples of the 
culinary art, always busy, and although laboring under difficulty, 
preparing articles of diet which would do honor to many of the 
best arranged hospitals. This car is one of the trophies won by the 
immortal Mitchell, in his successful dash on Huntsville in 1862. 

The three new hospital cars seem to meet the demand exactly, 
combining all possible freedom of motion, the least jar, good 
ventilation, a comfortable degree of warmth, and expedition in 
loading and unloading. 

Each car contains twenty-four stretchers hung on uprights by 
heavy rubber bands. The stretchers can be removed from the car 
without disturbing the occupant. There are also seats for those 
who wish to sit up, and a sofa for the surgeon or attendant, beneath 
which is a wardrobe and drawers for books, newspapers, etc. 
Opposite the sofa is a kitchen only six feet by three, yet it contains 
water tank, wash basin, sink for washing dishes, cupboards for 
stores and dishes, and two large lamps heating copper boilers by 
which soup, coffee, tea, etc., may be quickly and nicely prepared. 

The "bumper" is surrounded by a stiflP spring which prevents the 
communicatit)n of the jar when the motion is suddenly stopped or 
applied. The whole interior is fitted up in a style superior to any 
cars in use in the North-west. 

Articles of clothing are kept constantly on the train to be given 
to those needing them, and Sanitary stores of every character are 
liberally supplied. 

Patients speak in the highest terms and with the deepest 
feeling of the kindness and efficiency of Dr. Myers. 

Trips are made tri-weekly from Bridgeport for hospital patients. 
Large numbers of discharged and furloughed soldiers are carried, 
but many more of the latter come by passenger and box cars. 



HOSPITAL CARS. 479 

On the Louisville road the accommodations are much the same 
iis those just mentioned. The arrailgements for cooking are 
excellent, and much improved during the last month, a fine range 
having heen substituted for the stove before used. The food 
prepared is of good quality, and beside Goyernment rations, many 
delicacies — such as are comprised in the stores of the Commission — 
are issued in anv amount required. 

Since my connection with the hospital train, I have removed 
twenty thousand four hundred and seventy-two patients, with the 
loss of only one man, who was removed against the wish of his sur- 
geon and my own judgment, at his earnest desire to " die at home." 

In no case have I been able to find any bad results from the 
removal in Sanitary cars. The results of the unusual care have 
been so marked in some cases as to deserve notice. 

A private of an Indiana regiment was sent me at Murfreesboro, 
to remove to JSTashville. He furnished every appearance of great 
previous neglect, and was so feeble that I felt it a matter of much 
doubt whether he Avould survive the journey. He was placed in 
the middle of the car, near a window, stimulated freely, and a 
careful attendant directed to watch every movement. On our 
arrival at Nashville, he was sent to Hospital No. 19, apparently 
in a condition of collapse. You can judge of my surprise to hear 
him answer to his name in a week after, when I was removing a 
squad to Louisville. I remembered the name, but the face was so 
much changed as to be almost entirely unrecognizable. On our 
arrival at Louisville he walked to the ambulance without difficulty, 
and seemed to have as bright prospects of recovery as almost any 
passenger in the load. 

A discharged soldier of a Kentucky regiment was sent by Mr. 
Atwater, of the United States Sanitary Commission, at Murfrees- 
boro. He was on his way to Erie, Penn., where he had friends. It 
was a case of un-united fracture of femur, from a gunshot wound at 
Stone Eiver. The wound was suppurating freel}^, and several large 
bed-sores, occasioned by remaining in a recumbent position for so 
many months, had added to his weakness as well as the difiSculty of 
his removal. Most of the medical gentlemen who saw him thought 
he would never stand a removal to Nashville, much less to the 
North — an opinion in which I would have concurred in former 
days. He did not complain of pain during his removal, and on 



480 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN^ DEPARTMENT. 

his aiTiyal at Louisville was in good spirits and much elated at the 
prospect of speedily reaching home and friends. 
********* 

March 15, 18G4. 
********* 

In the transportation of the sick, we have not been without 
some extraordinar}' adventures. Besides sickness and wounds, 
we have had to contend with the rebels. On April 10th, while 
bringing up sick from Murfreesboro to Nashville in a hospital 
car attached to the passenger train, we were attacked at Antioch 
station, eleven miles out, by the rebels, who had drawn the spikes 
from the track, and thus thrown the train off. The rebels, who 
were in the woods above us, began at once to fire upon the train. 
The bullets mostly struck the roofs of the cars, and rebounded, 
reminding us, who were still within, of an attic room in a severe 
hail storm. The small guard of forty were soon overpowered, ancl 
fled, leaving sixteen of their number on the ground, either dead or 
severely wounded. 

The rebels now made a rush for the cars, and began robbing the 
passengers of mone}^, watches and clothing. Several Tennesseeans 

made a dash at our car, shouting, " Get out of there, you d d 

Yankees!" and flourishing their pistols and knives in our faces, 
but were immediately driven off by the 8th Texas, who formed a 
portion of the attacking party. These men showed the greatest 
consideration, handling our sick and wounded as tenderly as 
brothers could. They not only left me and my attendants undis- 
turbed but did not insist on paroling any of my patients who were 
with us. But several sick men, who left the cars at the first onset, 
were carried off with the other passengers. If our car had been 
separated from the others, I think that we should not have been 
disturbed ; but it was impossible to burn the train without destroy- 
ing it. None of my patients were injured. The passengers were 
marched away, the cars fired, the booty collected, and the plunderers 
off again, as by magic, leaving myself and my attendants in posses- 
sion of the field. We immediately set to work, giving the wounded 
a preliminary dressing, collecting the scattered men, and opening 
McCann's house as a hospital. 

We were relieved, about three o'clock in the morliing, by a 
special train sent from Nashville for us, and brought in all our 



HOSPITAL CARS, 481 

patients, that were not comfortably provided for, and who could be 
moved, several bushels of mail matter and the locomotive. At seven 
o'clock the same morning, I left ISTashville for Louisville with a train 
of three hundred patients. 

Early in May the remaining two old hospital cars were destroyed 
by accident at Brook's station, on the Louisville railroad; and as 
but three new ones have been added, we were seriously troubled to 
remove men during this and the following month. 

On the 1st of August four additional cars were fitted up for 
temporary use, and on October 1st the new hospital cars were 
furnished. These are built on the same plans as those used 
between Washington and New York, with such modifications as 
the tunnel and the difi'erence in the width of track rendered 
necessary. ^n ***** * 

Perhaps I can give our friends at home the best idea of our 
work by describing that of a single day: 

Yesterday, for instance, I arrived at Nashville, on the return 
trip, about midnight, being delayed by an accident. After " making 
up my train," receiving my clerk's report, and my orders for the 
morrow from the Medical Director, I rolled up in my blanket for 
a nap. But five o'clock in the morning soon came, and with it the 
yell of a regiment of veteran volunteers, going home on furlough. 
Such a yell! — enough to raise the dead; and it did raise my "seven 
sleepers," who Avere soon at work, preparing the cars, and making 
breakfast for themselves and the men. 

In another hour the platform of the depot is covered with 
soldiers from the front, officers on leave of absence, citizens and 
camp-followers. The veterans are assigned to cars by themselves, 
and are jolly and noisy. The train is so long that it is divided into 
various parts, standing on difi'erent tracks. Ambulances, loaded 
with the sick from the hospitals and the Soldiers' Home, pour in, 
and are stopped and examined by my steward, and, if the occupants 
are found to be "all right," are furnished with checks, which admit 
them to the cars. If any doubtful cases arise, they are told to report 
to me at the cars, where we are busy putting in beds, assisting the 
feeble and disabled to seats, and looking after their baggage. 

All may have gone well thus far ; but at six o'clock the anibu- 
lance-master brings us his list, which calls for two hundred men, 
while my steward has given out but one hundred and eighty checks. 

31 



482 SANITARY COMMISSIOi^ — WESTEEi^ DEPARTMENT. 

Some Jehu of a driver, partaking of the nature of the beast he 
lashes, has managed to deposit his load at the wrong platform. 
Two of us at once push through the crowd, inquiring of every 
soldier, "Where did 3^ou come from?" "Where are you going?" 
"Let me see yoar papers." The soldiers think it none of our 
business, and, very naturally, answer with emphatic curses. We 
secure, however, perhaps a dozen of the twenty missing men. 

The ticket office is now opened, and there is a great rush for 
tickets. About two hundred furloughed men are marched down 
from the Home and hospitals, the guard clearing the way for them, 
and they are soon comfortably seated. As the passenger cars will 
accommodate but four hundred of the six hundred w^aiting for a 
chance, the pressure for admission is tremendous. The papers of 
military men are examined, and they pass in. A sutler, who will 
take no refusal from the agent to sell a citizen a ticket, makes an 
attempt to dodge in, but is met with cold steel; while an old man, 
who is carrying home the remains of his son who has died in hos- 
pital, is told, "You can^t get on the train, if I see you T And yet 
the good old man is found at night safe at Louisville. The sharpest 
eyes will wink. 

Only three minutes to seven o'clock. Nearly all the blue coats 
are aboard. My missing eight stragglers are found, helpless as 
lost children, in some out-of-the-way corner, and put on just as we 
leave. 

Most of the men have had breakfast; the rest are provided with 
coffee, toast, crackers and cheese. Then there are patients to examine 
and to prescribe for, wounds to dress, questions to answer, transpor- 
tation to manage, etc. This takes up the first three hours, till we 
arrive at Bowling Green. 

Here we are met by inevitable boys with their white-oak pies 
and unsavory chicken, with which they attempt to supply the men. 
My diarrhQ?a patients seem to have an unnatural craving for the 
wretched stuff. The boys are ordered off, but will return. I tell 
the veterans in cars ahead to confiscate anything that attempts to 
pass. The pie-boys do not take the hint, are too venturesome, and 
so lose all in the handsome charge of the ready veterans. On one 
occasion they actually bagged a darkey, with his pies, who was first 
heard of somewhere in Ohio, stoutly asserting that he was " 'fiscated 
by the sojers." 



HOSPITAL CARS. 483 

Each man is looked to hourly. As diDiier-time approaches, 
bread is cut and buttered, meat sliced, pickles and apples got out, 
and, from the large tank of boiling water, tea and sonp are prepared 
by the barrel. Each man is furnished with plate, cup and spoon, 
the solid food is distributed, and, the moment the train stops, the 
tea and soup are served out, followed, perhaps, by ale and fruit. 
Those who need special diet are carefully attended to. 

The furloughed men in the passenger train are next looked 
after and fed. Their destination is ascertained, and ambulances 
telegraphed for, to carry those who wish to go on without stopping 
to the several railroad depots in the city, 'New Albany and Jefferson- 
yille. Those too ill to travel further will be sent to hospital, while 
the others will be directed to the Soldiers' Home. 

When we arrive at Louisville, about five o'clock, those of my 
patients able to walk proceed at once to the ambulances; the 
sickest and disabled are placed on hand-carts, and rolled to the 
fi'ont of the depot; and Ave see them all safely delivered at their 
several points of destination. 

When the cars are washed, stores obtained for to-morrow's trip, 
and report made at the Medical Directors Office, we may consider 
our day's work done. 



OHAPTEK XYIIl. 



In February, 1862, the battle of Fort Donelson took 
place, and the first great victory was won by the Union 
arms at the West. By this battle, one thousand seven 
hundred and thirty-five of our men were wounded, and, 
with one thousand and seven Confederates, left on our 
hands to be cai'ed for. No hospitals were located at or 
near this point, and no adecjuate provision made for the 
(•are of the wounded. As a consequence of this, and the 
inclemenc}^ of the weather, thei'e was a degree of suffering 
among the wounded almost unparalleled in the history of 
the war. 

The announcement of the battle and victory, which was 
fiashed almost instantaiieousl}' over the Avhole country by 
telegraph, (^aused a great outburst of enthusiasm among 
our people. And yet the joy at the I'esult was tempered 
by a deep .feeling of sympath^^ witli tlic^ torn and bleeding 
\irtims of the strife. 

TIh^ Cincinnati Branch of the Commission immediately 
took measures to lelieve, as far as was in their power, the 
suffering Avhicli they felt to b(^ inevitable. They at once 
chartered the steamboat ^' Allen Collier;-' put on board a 
liberal su])ply of lios])ital stores, including cots, bedding, 
etc., and a full com] )1 em cut of surgeons and nurses, with 
whicli she went freiglitf^l to the scene of victory to our 
arms, h\\\ of disastei* to so ma.ny of oui- soldiers. 

1 was at l.ouisville at the? time, and, on invitation from 
Ilie Cincinnati delcgjition. accompanied them on the trip. 



HOSPITAL TRAN^SPOKTS. 485 

Arriving at Fort Donelsoii, we found onr anticipations of 
the suffering and destitution more than realized. The 
wounded were not yet all taken from the held, and, when 
brought in, there w^as no other place of reception provided 
for them than the steamers ''Fanny Bullitt-' and "City of 
Memphis," which had been assigned to the uses of the 
Medical Department. These steamers w^ere entirely with- 
out hospital furniture, and a little corn meal constituted 
the sum total of their liosj)ital stores. The w^ounded were 
laid side by side on the hard floor of the cabin, a large 
portion without either mattresses or blankets. Their 
medical attendants w^ere doing for them what the}' could, 
but there was a, dehciency of help and an entire inadequacy 
of means for securing the comfort or safetj^ of those under 
their charge. 

Under these circumstances, it might have been expected 
that a ship-load of supplies, and numerous competent 
surgeons and nurses, would have been welcomed with 
delight. On the contrary, they w^ere looked upon as 
interlopers, greeted with curses instead of blessings, and 
the aid the^^ tendered at first refused, but subsequently 
partially accepted, under conditions so humiliating and 
insulting that nothing but a high sense of duty and a total 
disregard of self prevented the Christian gentlemen who 
composed the Cincinnati delegation from leaving the 
wounded to their fate and returning as they came. By 
persevering effort, however, they so far accomplished their 
object as to be permitted to leave a portion of their stores 
and to take eighty-one of the wounded on board the 
"Collier.'- These eighty-one, at least, were properly cared 
for. They were washed, clothed in new garments, carefully 
laid in clean and comfortable beds, and their wants all sup- 
plied with a care and tenderness such as they could hardly 
have experienced at the hands of mothers and sisters at 
home. 



486 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTEEN DEPARTMENT. 

This was the first trip of a Sanitary hospital steamer at 
the West. 

Early in the April following occurred the battle of 
Pittsburg Landing. Here the circumstances were similar 
to what they had been at Fort Donelson. The want of 
adequate provision for the care of the wounded was equally 
conspicuous, and their sufferings were only less because 
the season was more advanced and the snow could not 
cover them as they lay uncared for on the battle field. 
There were no hospitals here to receive the wounded, and 
no floating hospitals had been organized by the Govern- 
ment to transport them to other points. The latter were 
improvised by the medical officers as rapidly as possible. 
Yet the location was uncomfortable and insalubrious ; and 
humanity, as well as the best interests of the country and 
of the army, required that both the wounded from the 
battle field and the sick from the great army now con- 
gregated here should be at once removed further north. 

This would never have been effectually accomplished if 
the people had not again stepped in to supplement the 
efforts of the military authorities. A fleet of well-equipped 
hospital transports was promptly sent to Pittsburg Landing 
by the Branches of the Sanitary Commission at Cincinnati, 
Louisville and Chicago, by the Western Sanitary Commis- 
sion at St. Louis, and the Governors of the several States. 
These came freighted with ample supplies, with large 
numbers of surgeons and nurses ; and through their means 
the difliculties of the situation were promptly and efficiently 
ameliorated. 

The steamboats on the Western rivers are of such a 
construction that they were readily converted into floating 
hospitals which combined every desirable quality. The 
boiler deck and the cabin, with the guards, (which were 
protected by awnings,) formed wards that for convenience 



HOSPITAL TRAXSPORTS. 487 

and salubrity could liardly be improved. Being open from 
end to end, the motion of the steamer caused a current of 
pure air to sweep freely over the cot of every patient — an 
agent which had more vitalizing power than even the food 
medicine and T\'itli which he was abundantly supplied. 

The equipment of these boats was frequently almost 
luxurious, and the care bestowed upon those transported 
in them was prompted by a sympathy and interest as 
lively and sincere as though each wounded soldier had 
been a relative or dearest friend of his attendant. 

The work of transporting the sick from Pittsburg Land- 
ing northward was for a time hurriedly, informally, and, 
doubtless, in some instances badly done, but, on the 
whole, it was one of the noblest and most serviceable 
efforts ever inspired by humanity and patriotism ; and 
the criticisms which have been passed uj)on it have mostly 
had their origin in an attempt at self- vindication on the 
part of those who were convicted, by this great voluntary 
eifort, of inhumanity and inefficiency in the performance 
of their duty. IS^early all this work passed under my 
own eye, and of a considerable part I had the immediate 
supervision and responsibility. Acting for the Sanitary 
Commission, I chartered the steamer "Lancaster," which 
was occupied as a hospital boat, and, during the interval 
of tw^o months succeeding the battle, made six trips to 
Pittsburg Landing and Hamburg, carrying large supplies 
of hospital stores, and bringing, in the aggregate, fifteen 
hundred sick and wounded to the hospitals on the Ohio 
River. Of these, at least, I can testify that all were 
received and delivered in strict accordance with orders of 
the medical authorities, and that on all there was bestowed 
as thorough and kindly care as could have been given them 
in the best military hospitals, floating or stationary, which 
have existed during the war. 



488 SA^^ITAllY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

About twenty loads of sick and wounded were taken 
by tlie boats of tlie Sanitary Commission from Shiloh and 
vicinity to the hospitals in the North. Others were taken 
by boats sent by Grovernors of States or municipal authori- 
ties, so that about seven thousand w^ere removed by volun- 
tary effort on the part of the people. Such as are living of 
this great number, and the hundreds of our best citizens, 
surgeons, nurses, philanthropists, men and women, under 
whose care they were removed, can all speak intelligently 
in regard to the character of this work ; and to them I can 
cheerfully refer for endorsement or correction of the view I 
have taken of it. The reports and letters, written at the 
time by those who participated in or observed the trans- 
portation of the sick and wounded from Shiloh, will convey 
a clearer idea, of the manner in w^hich the work was done 
than w^ould any long description I could give of it. 

Inspired by the experience had at Pittsburg Landing 
and Fort Donelson,^the Government fitted up four excel- 
lent hospital boats, which were so nearly sufficient for all 
subsequent transportation of sick and w^ounded by w^ater 
that little was left for the people to do in this direction. 

Steamer "Lancaster No. 4," 

Paducah, Ky., May 10, 1862-3 A.M. 
Fred. Law Olmsted, 

General Secretary Sanitary Commission^ Washington, D. C. : 
My Dear Olmsted — The sick are all sleeping or quiet, and 
now, while I am watching over them, let me improve this rare 
moment of respite from the pressure of my cares and duties to 
jot down hastily, for your benefit, a few of the more important 
items of my experience since I last wrote you. Pardon me if I 
am brief — lor I have but a moment at my command — and my 
story broken and ill-told ; for of the thousand things which I 
have to tell, how can I arrange and systematize a few, so as to 
give you a clear knowledge of the whole ? As I look backward, 
an avalanche of facts seems rushing on, ready to overwhelm me ; 



HOSPITAL TRAKSPORTS. 489 

and when I feel how little life and spirit are left me, I am doubtful 
if I even struggle through it. 

When I last wrote you, I was on hoard of the steamer which 
I had chartered for the Commission at Cincinnati; had put on 
nearly five hundred boxes of stores — clothing, ice, cheese, butter, 
eggs, lemons, oranges, canned and dried fruits, dried beef, potatoes, 
sour-krout, pickles, wine, brandy, ale, groceries, tin ware, wooden 
ware, etc. — all furnished by the Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern 
Ohio — and such things as experience had taught me were most 
needed among the sick in the armies of Tennessee, not being 
furnished in sufficient quantities by the Goyernment or the people 
through their Sanitary Commissions or Committees. At Louisville 
we were visited by the members of the Branch Sanitary Commis- 
sion, and there took on board one hundred and fifty-nine soldiers 
returning to duty, several Paymasters, and hospital stores for the 
Medical Purveyor, with three million five hundred thousand dollars 
in cash. 

We had a pleasant voyage down the Ohio and up the Tennessee. 
Found Douglass and Warriner at Pittsburg Landing, in charge of 
our depot, on the steamer of the Medical Purveyor, and doing good 
work. After reporting myself and steamer to the Medical Director, 
I visited Dr. Murray at General Buell's head-quarters, twelve miles 
on the road to Corinth^, where I passed the night. From Dr. Murray 
I received the highest testimonials to the value of our Commission 
in Buell's army, which you will be pleased to see. 

Learning that Hamburg, seven miles above Pittsburg Landing, 
would soon be the important depot of supplies and hospital station 
for our army, that three thousand sick were already there, I went 
up to Hamburg, under order of Dr. McDougall, Medical Director. 
I there found Drs. Gay, Varian and Hipp in charge, who did for us 
all in their power — gave us a fine room for our depot, to which they 
transported our supplies from the boat. 

There were three thousand five hundred sick at Hamburg — 
two hundred to three hundred arriving daily — the hospital tents 
full to overflowing — a great deal of sufi'ering, and want of just 
the things we had brought ; clothing having been abundantly, for 
the time, supplied from our Branch Commission. Dr. Prentice 
was left in charge of the depot at Hamburg, with the prospect 
of great usefulness. 



490 SANITAEY COMMISSIO:?^ — WESTERN DEPARTMEi^T. 

I took on board our steamer two hundred and eighteen sick 
from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky — mostly from Michi- 
gan, as Illinois and Ohio had been well represented in the Sanitary 
efforts at Pittsburg Landing and vicinity, and most of the sick from 
these States had been carried away. I took those of all States with 
equal pleasure, as representing the catholic spirit of the United 
States Sanitar}' Commission. As a consequence, our steamer was 
for the most part loaded with the neglected and specially suffering. 

On Tuesday morning, at daylight, we dropped down to Pittsburg 
Landing, and reported to the Medical Director. He came on board, 
inspected the sick, approved our arrangements and their condition, 
giving us our orders to deliver them at Evansville, Louisville and 
Cincinnati, and, at nine o'clock in the morning, we started on our 
way home. 

Just before we left, the "Tycoon," one of the boats sent by the 
Governor of Ohio for Ohio sick — under the care of Dr. Smith, of 
Columbus, one of our most efi&cient Associate Members — arrived at 
Pittsburg Landing, having been at A^ashville, and having on board 
Dr. Read, our Inspector, and M. C. Eead, Special Relief Agent, 
employed by me to assist Dr. Read in the work of the Commission 
in and about ^N'ashville. Dr. Smith and the members of his party 
were loud in their praises of the work we had done at Nashville, 
reporting the hospitals there — thanks to the influence of our depot 
and the efficiency of our agents — in an excellent condition. 

His work in l^ashville being nearly done — at least in such a state 
as to be left in other hands — in accordance with my instructions. 
Dr. Read had come over to Pittsburg Landing. To me his arrival was 
most opportune, as I had lost two of the surgeons who had promised 
to return with me, they having been taken into Government service. 
I therefore took him on board of the " Lancaster," and he is now 
making himself exceedingly useful. He will return at once to 
Pittsburg Landing, and resume his work in General Buell's army. 

M. C. Read went up to Hamburg, to assist Dr. Prentice, whose 
pressing want of help he will be able to satisfy. 

With the help of Drs. Read and Fulton — the latter a surgeon 
who volunteered for the trip — and an efficient corps of nurses, 
(including two ladies, experienced and unexceptionable women, 
members of the Aid Society of Northern Ohio, and friends of 
mine, who luive been at Pittsburg Landing, in care of the sick 



HOSPITAL TRAI^SPOKTS. -491 

and in our depot, for some time,) we are doing for the sick all that 
their wants require, and all that their friends at home could ask. 

I took more than otir boat could conyeniently accommodate, 
urged by the eyident necessity that they should leave Hamburg, 
and their tearful, trembling eagerness to go home. I never had a 
more sad and painful duty to perform than to say to the throng of 
eager applicants, '^ I cannot take you " — to dash to the ground the 
hope created by the surgeon's permission of exchanging the dreadful 
suffering, monotony and exile of camp and hospital life in Ten- 
nessee for a rapid, pleasant voyage on a hospital transport — fitted 
up with all the luxury of a modern hospital — with cool and airy 
wards, long rows of clean cots, luxuries that would tempt even the 
fickle, deadened appetite of the fever patient who loathed his bread 
and bacon — and, most of all, the homelike attention of kind and 
sympathizing friends, to which they had so long been strangers. 

I have on board many a darling whom I am taking home to die 
in the arms of his mother, and not a few to whom home and its 
loved ones will be a panacea; but I left on the banks of the 
Tennessee, at Hamburg, a tottering, woe-begone crowd, some of 
whom, I fear, will never receive the warm greetings that await them 
at home, because I could not add them to my too long list. God 
help them ! — I could not. 

So far all has gone most favorably. With the exception of two 
cases of t3rphoid fever, received almost ioi arUculo mortis, and who 
will die, I hope to transport, in safety and comfort, all these I have 
taken in charge, to the well-appointed hospitals on the Ohio. From 
there they will, as a general rule, be dispatched to their homes in 
a few days. 

I wish you could, as I have just done, walk through the wards, 
note how almost universally "tired Nature's sweet restorer" was 
doing its healing work, give the quieting draught to the restless, 
or cool the parched lips of the feverish with ice water or an orange- 
Could you do so, and see and hear that which ivill hourly bring 
tears to my eyes, I am sure you would feel, as I do, that fallen 
human nature has rarely assumed so pure and bright a phase as 
when planning and performing the work we are doing. 

Yours truly, 

J. S. l^EWBERRY. 



49*2 SAXITAKY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMEXT. 

Several members of the Cleveland Braiicli accompanied 
ns on the second trii^ of the ** Lancaster." From a letter 
of one of these ladles tlje following extracts are made: 

Ci.EVELA>-D. June 20, 1862. 
Dear Ladies of the Aid Society, Cleveland : 

The evening of June 5, 1862, saw us on board the '"Lancaster Xo. 4.'" bound for 
Pittsburg Landing. Our party comprised six physicians— Dr. Newbeny, with his 
co-adjutor, Dr. Prentice, at their head— a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, six male nurses, and five ladies who claimed the privilege of acting in any 
capacity the necessities of the sick might demand, either as nurses or cooks, willing 
that the yellow flag should cover the broad ground of woman's sphere Avherever a 
Christian humanity should direct it. 

Our boat was richly freighted with hospital stores, to be dispensed as the 
exigencies of the boat or hospitals might demand. We embarked with the pleasant 
appliances of a pleasure excursion — agreeable officers, well-furnished saloon and 
state rooms ; and, in genial society and the surroundings of beautiful scenerj-, we 
drank in vigor and courage for the accomplishment of our mission, which was to 
bring home such sick and wounded as could with safety be removed from the 
Tennessee hospitals. We were to take men irrespective of the State to which they 
belonged, and gather under the folds of the United States flag all who in common 
had fought for the honor of that flag, for surely all such were brothers. * * 

On the morning of June 10th we arrived at Pittsburg Landing. Such a busy 
scene as there presented itself! :>=******* 

As it was determined that we were to ship our sick from Hamburg, six miles 
south of the Landing, we proceeded there the following day, and then commenced 
our earnest work. The saloon of the "Lancaster" was stripped of its carpets, 
lounges, etc., floors thoroughly washed, and a triple roAv of cots ranged lengthwise 
through the saloon. Eveiy available space on the guards and lower deck was occu- 
pied by cots, and all hands put in requisition to prepare for the reception of the 
invalid soldiers. Blessings on the Aid Societies were invoked, when the stores of 
sheets and comfortable quilts were brought from their hiding place, and the cots 
made, one after another, by their cleanliness and comfort, as inviting as those of a 
fine hotel. Blessings, too, for the liberal supply of pillows for the aching heads 
that had slept so many weary weeks on the knapsack. Our preparations completed, 
we waited until the morning of Friday, the 12th instant, for our precious freight. 

On the morning of that day, our patients — two hundred and twenty-five in 
number— appeared on the hill above our landing, brought thither from a hospital 
in that vicinity. We watched with intense interest their progress to the boat. Of 
the whole number, not one descended the hill with the step of health. Bent and 
broken, either by the scourge of fever or wounds — some on litters— some in half 
military dress, with the loose sleeve proclaiming a terrible wound ; others in dress- 
ing-gowns, sitting down, as exhausted nature required, after a few steps. 

AVe at last mustered our forces. The boat was divided into wards, each physician 
taking one as his special care— the six nurses acting for all. 

After the men fell into their comfortable quarters, the operation of bathing and 
dressing began. Soiled clothing was removed, and your generous store of .shirts and 
drawers furnished each poor fellow with comforts which spoke, in their happy faces. 
of a moral elevation, since cleanliness is akin To godliness. 



HOSPITAL TRAXSPOKTS. -193 

Now, all these sheets, shirts, drawers, etc., bore the unmistakable mark of the 
Northern Ohio Aid Society, and prompted the question. What would become of these 
sick men if there was no such organization? Again, when the nice supper appeared, 
with its modicum to each man of sweet bread, butter and fruit, with tea or coflfee, 
as his taste directed, the same question was mentally propounded ; and gratefully 
we acknowledged the benevolence that had filled up the aAvful hiatus between the 
necessities of our sick and wounded brothers and the supplies which the best 
Government can afford. There was untold satisfaction, too, in the ocular demon- 
stration this trip afforded, that the Sanitary Commission, with its authorized agents, 
goes to the spot, and directly applies its aid. There is no doubt tormenting the 
mind of the destination of stores thus entrusted, for they are met in the verj' face 
of the demand. It is not a box, carefullj- marked by loving hands, and entrusted to 
steamboats and railways, but stores made available by the donors themselves, 
through their own appointed agents, where the failure to reach their destination is 
the exception, never the rule. 

Our kind clergj-man, with his words of comfort, contributed materially to the 
good we were dispensing. 

Three of our party were returning Avith heavy hearts, having gone in quest of 
relatives whom they found "sleeping the sleep that knows no waking." To these 
bruised spirits all administered. One of the mourners— an octogenarian— was bearing 
to his home on the banks of the Ohio the tidings of his son's death; but nothing 
daunted in his patriotism by his calamity, he was willing to try his own hand in the 
fight for his country's honor, if a call should be made for the gray-haired when the 
younger men were exhausted. 

On Sunday two services were held by the Rev. Dr. Starkey— one in the cabin for 
the convalescents, and a second one in the evening, in the open air, on the bow of 
the steamer, to an audience most of whom were unable to rise from their cots. 
It was a lovely summer night which witnessed this solemn service to men pros- 
trated by disease, on the lonely waters of the Tennessee, and hard must have been 
the heart that did not respond to the fervent petitions of that hour. 

Surely the "Lancaster," on her homeward way, was an angel of mercy— dispens- 
ing to hospitals at Savannah. Monterey and Hamburg of the good things with 
which she was freighted— giving, without stint, of fruits, wines and clothing— glad- 
dening the hearts of those, who, far from home and the sympathy which surrounds 
it, recognize, in the stamp of yours and kindred Societies, the tender and loving 
ministrations of woman and the bright chain of living and practical benevolence 
which unites them with home and all its endearing associations. * * * 

Yerv trulv vours, vT. 



CHAPTER XIX 



^ s :b ID I nsr (3- st^tioi^s. 

A VEKY important, tliougli mostly unrecorded, part of 
tlie Special Relief work performed by the Sanitary Com- 
mission in the Yalle}^ of tlie Mississippi, was done at tlie 
Feeding Stations, established at convenient points along the 
lines of transportation, where the inmates of the railroad 
or ambulance hospital trains received all necessary medical 
and surgical care and more abundant and grateful food than 
it was possible to furnish them while in transit. 

The following brief notices of some of these Stations will 
serve to illustrate the character of the service performed by 
them : 

THE MOUXTAIJf LODGE. 

During the time that Chattanooga was held by the Union 
army, and the Tennessee River by the rebels, all communi- 
cation with our base of supplies was by a long and exceed- 
ingly rough road over the Cumberland Mountains from 
Chattanooga to Stevenson. By this route, for some weeks, 
all supplies for the army were transported to Chattanooga, 
and such of the wounded as were removed from that point 
after the battle of Chickamauga were brought in by ambu- 
lances. To relieve, in some degree, the fatigues of this 
trying journey, a Feeding Station was established by the 
Sanitary Commission, near Jasper, a convenient interme- 
diate 23oint, and, until the river was opened, this contrib- 
uted largely to the comfort of those transported by this 
route. 



FEEDING STATIOivTS. 495 

This Lodge was establislied by Dr. George L. Andrew, 
temporarily acting as Chief Inspector of the Army of the 
Cumberland. In his report of October 10, 1863, the follow- 
ing paragraphs give the circumstances of its inauguration : 

In no one matter have onr operations been more delayed by 
the difficulty of transportation than in the establishment of our 
" Mountain Lodge." 

On the 28th ultimo, I laid the plan for the establishment of a 
resting and feeding place on the ambulance route, for the benefit 
of the wounded in transitu, midway between Chattanooga and 
Stevenson, before Surgeon Perin, Medical Director of the Depart- 
ment. It at once received his hearty approbation and the promise 
of every necessary aid. 

I readily obtained the consent of Rev. 0. Kennedy, chaplain of 
the lOlst Ohio, an excellent man, with a head, a heart and a hand 
always ready for any good work, to take charge of the Lodge, and 
have taken the liberty to appoint him an agent of the Commis- 
sion for that purpose. Some delay was experienced in procuring the 
proper "detail"' from his regiment, and he came to this place via 
the ambulance route, selecting the locality for the Lodge on the 
way. After much delay and many disappointments, he started on 
the 9tli with the tents, stores and furniture; and we can say, with 
as much certainty as of any future event, that it will be in complete 
running order in time for the next train of wounded men. 

The deprivations and sufferings of those on the two trains which 
have already come over that dreaded passage have convinced every 
one of the necessity for the Lodge, and there is no reason to fear for 
the future in this regard. It is expected that each ambulance train 
will so arrange its movements as to stop at that point, where there 
is an abundance of wood and Avater, and will be an abundance of 
wholesome, palatable food, and of kind attention, for a good night's 
rest. 

The chaplain has been indefatigable in his efforts to get the 
matter speedily and properly under way, and his former labors in 
connection with his regiment and in the hospital service furnish 
every necessary guarantee that this service will be administered 
faithfullv and well. 



4:9(') SAXlTAEy COMMISSIOX — WESTERN DEPARTMEXT. 

Xo detailed report lias ever been made, but abundant 
written and verbal testimony lias been received of its great 
usefulness to tlie wounded and suffering men wlio were 
compelled to encounter tlie hardships of a journey over tlie 
Cumberland Mountains, painful enough to Avell men, but to 
the invalids infinitely distressing. Of these testimonials, 
the subjoined letter, printed in the Chicinnafi Gazdtf, may 
serve as a sample : 

CrxciNKATi, October m. 
Editors Gazette: 

It is not unfrequently stated that the contributions made by our benevolent 
citizens to the United States Sanitary Commission seldom reach those for whom 
tlie donations were really intended. Such statements have a tendency to diminish 
public confidence and retard the operations of the Commission. I desire, in a public 
manner, to testify to one act of the Sanitary Commission, done at a time and place 
whicli will fully demonstrate the indispensable benefits that institution has done our 
sufl'ering men. 

On the 24th instant I came over the cheerless and horribly muddy road leading 
down the valley of the Sequatchie, from Chattanooga to Stevenson. Major Welch of 
the 18tli Avas with me ; and, in an ambulance, we had Lieutenant D. B. Carlin, a brave 
and valuable officer of the 18th, who was slowly recovering from a severe wound 
received at Chickamauga. This officer was yet totally helpless, and had been sent 
out of the field hospital with less than a day's rations to accomplish a journey of 
four days. The country on this route affords nothing for the subsistence of either 
man or beast. In this emergency I knew not what to do. The officer, as Avell as the 
driver of the ambulance and the officer's attendant, were likely to suffer severely. 

At a point just eight miles above Jasper we espied, on the river bank, three or 
four hospital tents and, near by, a few smaller tents; and, riding up to one of these, 
we discovered a small placard, with the words "Soldiers' Home" upon it, and we 
rejoiced to discover the jolly countenance of the kind-hearted chaplain of the 
101st Ohio Volunteers, now doing detached duty as agent of the Sanitary Commission 
in this isolated spot, for the benefit of the sick and wounded being sent to the rear. 

We stated our case, and were liberally supplied with fruit, crackers, tea, etc., 
with a good bottle of the best of ale, (Walker's best,) and were kindly urged to 
remain and partake of a warm supper. This invitation we were reluctantly com- 
pelled to decline, on account of the lateness of the hour and the necessity existing 
to reach Jasper. 

This is only one of a thousand similar instances occurring daily everywliere 
along this line. 

The fact that this aid, so much needed, reached us when so unexpected, made 

an impression on my mind. Let me urge the people to continue their generous 

donations. Through this source more aid is rendered us than through all others 

combined. This conduct of the agents has been such as to improve rather than 

to diminish confidence. 

Yoin's, 

C. H. Grosvenoh, 

.LiiuleiKint-Cdloiul Ki<iht<eiith Ohio Vohinteey- T)ifa)itr!i. 



FEEDING STATIONS. 497 

On the opening of the Tennessee River to Lookout 
Mountain, the Lodge at Jasper was transferred to Kelly's 
Ferry, the point of transhipment of men and materials 
671 route to or from Chattanooga. Here it was main- 
tained — first under the supervision of Chaplain Kennedy, 
and subsequently of Mr. W. A. Sutliffe — until, by the 
dispersion of the rebel force at the battle of Chattanooga, 
the river route was thoroughly opened. During its continu- 
ance, it served a most important purpose in ministering to 
the wants of those who passed through or congregated 
there. 

A large number of sick and wounded men were trans- 
ported from Chattanooga to Kelly's Ferry, ten miles, in 
ambulances, there taking the steamer for Bridgeport. But, 
for a time, one small and slow steamer was the only medium 
of communication between those two points. This steamer 
was frequently much delayed, and sometimes overloaded, 
so that those whose condition required the most rapid 
transportation possible to some good hospital were kept 
for hours, some even for days, on the barren river bank, 
where the provision made by Government for their recep- 
tion and care was frequently entirely inadequate. 



This Lodge consisted of a number of large tents, in 
which cots were provided for those who needed them, 
and tables were set at which they were fed. The follow- 
ing letter from Mr. Sutliffe will serve to convey a general 
idea of the service rendered by the Lodge at Kelly' s Ferry : 

Kelly's Ferry, December 11, 1863. 
Dr. J. S. Newberey, 

Secretary Western Department l\ S. Sanitary Commission, Louisville : 
Dear Sir — The rebel occupation of Lookout Mountain, and 
the perilous navigation of the river above this point, having made 
it imperatively necessary that all stores should be re-shipped here, 

32 



498 SAXITART C0:VIiIlSSI02s'— WESTEKX DEPARTMEXT. 

I came, on the Jrth of JN^oyember, directed by Dr. A. N. Eead, of 
Kasliyille, to establish and take care of a depot of Sanitary stores. 
Our party consisted of Mr. Eno, State Sanitary Agent of Illinois, 
Mr. Bartlett, State Agent of Wisconsin, and Mr. Sill also of the 
Commission. I found Mr. Kennedy here, Avith the tents formerly 
used for the Mountain Lodge, doing excellent service. He was ably 
assisted by Dr. Failor, surgeon in charge of depot for wounded sol- 
diers in transit; and all needing aid were made as comfortable as 
the limited means of the situation would allow. I used one of the 
hospital tents to protect the supplies which arrived by the same 
boat with us, and afterward extended the store room with such 
chance material as could be picked up about the post. 

Mr. Kennedy continued in charge of the Lodge for about two 
weeks after my arrival, and then went to Bridgeport, where his 
presence was thought more necessary. After his departure, the 
general duties of receiving, shipping, issuing, and the care of the 
Lodge devolved upon me. 

The duties of the place varied with circumstances. At one 
time the number of irregular persons was very large, consisting, 
principally, of men upon detached duty, half-fed when with their 
regiments, sent here without rations, and unable, from some reason, 
to draw from the Commissary at the Ferry. This difficulty was 
soon remedied by Colonel Cahill, whose management of matters 
here cannot be too highly commended. At another time, there 
being insufficient hospital accommodations for the wounded in 
transit, a large proportion of them were fed from our table, and, 
with the concurrence of the surgeons, such articles were distrib- 
uted among them as their exposure and the consequent exhaustion 
seemed to require. All discharged and furloughed soldiers, and all 
soldiers who could not be supplied with subsistence in a regular 
manner, were furnished with food and lodging. At all times the 
peculiar difficulties of travel and transportation have made it 
incumbent on the Sanitary Commission to extend at this point 
a more generous hospitality than usual; and the courtesy, has, 
with a few exceptions, been kindly acknowledged. Not less than 
four thousand meals have been furnished by us, up to this date, 
under the circumstances above stated. 

Very respectfully yours, 

W. A. SUTLIFFE. 



FEEDIXG STATIOXS. 499 

The same causes tliat induced the establishment of a 
Lodge or Feeding Station at Kelly' s Ferry caused a similar 
institution to be located at Bridgeport. 

LODGE AT BKIDGEPORT, ALA. 

The sick and wounded brought by steamer from Kelly' s 
Ferry to Bridgeport were landed on the unsheltered riyer 
bottom, nearly a mile fr'om the railroad station, and Avere 
compelled to remain here until they could be transported 
to the field hospital, or the irregular railroad trains could 
take them frirther Xortli. Much suffering was consequent 
upon these delays and the want of a corps of attentive assist- 
ants by whom the disabled could be carefully removed, and 
the absence of a convenient receptacle where they could have 
rest, food and such other attentions as they required. All 
these wants were supplied by the Lodge established by the 
Sanitary Commission at the steamboat landing. Under the 
kind and efficient administration of Chaplain Kennedy, 
food, shelter and every requisite care were afforded to all 
who arrived there subsequent to its erection. Xo one who 
has witnessed, as I have done, the reception at Bridgeport, 
in cold and stormy winter weather, of a load of hungry and 
half-frozen sick and wounded men, can fail to regard the 
provisions made by the Sanitary Commission for tlieii* 
relief as other than most wise and merciful. 'No formal 
record was kept at the Bridgeport Lodge of the number of 
men entertained there, or the kind of care bestowed upon 
them ; but inasmuch as all who left Kelly's Ferry necessa- 
rily passed through Bridgeport, it follows that an equal 
number were cared for, and the kind of ser\dce rendered 
was essentially the same. 

FEEDING STATIOiT AT SEYMOUE, IXD. 

During the greater part of the war, passengers of all 
grades changing from the Ohio and Mississippi to the 



500 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

Jeffersonville Kailroad at Seymour, tlie point wliere these 
important lines intersect, experienced great discomfort from 
tlie delays incident to a want of connection between trains. 
The accommodations offered at that point were so imperfect 
that even those w^ell furnished with health, strength and 
money were liable to suffer much inconvenience during 
their delays here ; and to the discharged and disabled 
soldiers, who had little of either, the hardships of this 
''middle passage" were especially trying. In 1865 the 
number of invalid soldiers passing over the Jeffersonville 
Railroad, many of whom were delayed at this point, w^as 
such as to call for some special measure for their relief 
from the hardships which they experienced at Seymour. 
About the middle of the year, therefore, a building was 
erected and a Lodge opened there by the Sanitaiy Commis- 
sion. During three months this accommodated from thirty 
to fifty per day of those who without it would have endured 
a formidable aggregate of suffering. This Lodge was estab- 
lished through the efforts of Mr. E. D. Way and Mr. J. W. 
Ackley, and continued under the superintendence of the 
latter gentleman until, by the great falling off in the number 
of passing soldiers, the necessity for its ministrations ceased. 
It was closed about the middle of ^August, having accom- 
modated thirty-two hundred and fifty men, giving them 
forty-one hundred meals and nine hundred and seventy 
lodgings. 

FEEBING STATIONS AT DECHERD, DALTON, KINGS- 
TON AND RESACA. 

In Sherman' s advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta the 
line of communication was constantly lengthened, and the 
immense number of wounded in this arduous campaign 
required the transportation to better hospital accommoda- 
tions further north, of all who could bear removal, oi*, all 



FEEDING STATIOJfS. 501 

whom the limited capacity of the hospital cars would 
receive. To provide for the wants of these men while in 
transit the Sanitary Commission established fonr Feeding- 
Stations, viz.: at Decherd, Dalton, Kingston and Resaca, 
at each of which points kind and careful agents were con- 
stantly in attendance to supply the passing trains with hot 
coffee, beef soup, iced milk punch, or any other needed 
form of food or stimulant, and to dress the wounds of all 
requiring surgical care. For the prompt equipment of 
these Feeding Stations, Mr. M. C. Eead, the agent at 
Chattanooga, chartered a tin shop, which for a time was 
exclusively occupied in the manufacture of cups, plates, 
pails, etc., which were subsequently kept in constant use 
at the Feeding Stations south of that point. 

The Feeding Station at Decherd, Tenn. , was established 
at an earlier day and had a longer life than the others. 
From the fact that much surgical and medical duty was 
required in the care of the wounded passing this point, this 
Feeding Station was kept under the supervision of a medi- 
cal officer, Dr. D. Hillman first, and afterward Dr. George 
H. Gunn. 

In the system adopted for the proper performance of our 
work with Sherman' s army the care of the Feeding Stations 
was given to Mr. E. I. Eno, who was for a long time Mil- 
itary Agent for the State of Illinois, but later in the service 
of the Sanitary Commission and one of our most energetic 
and experienced agents. One of his letters will serve to 
illustrate the kind of work performed by these Feeding- 
Stations : 

Kingston, Ga., July 8, 1864. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry, 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission, Louisville : 
Dear Sir — A very important work is being done in preparing 
and giving refreshments to the wounded on trains going to Chat- 
tanooga. The first arrangement was made at Dalton, on the 17th 



502 SAIsTITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

of May, and daring the first day fifteen hundred were supplied with 
hot coffee, soup and crackers. 

Each of the Stations at Dalton, Eesaca and Kingston is now well 
prepared to feed any numher at short notice. Another Station will 
be arranged to-day at Marietta; Mr, Kennedy or Mr. Norton in 
charge. 

In doing this work, it is no more than justice to say that the 
Government is giving us every facility necessary, and we are also 
under many obligations to the gentlemanly officers of the different 
posts; and at Resaca and Kingston, the Christian Commission has 
rendered very efficient aid in distributing to the sick and wounded. 

The importance of provision being made for the sick and 
wounded on trains can only be fairly estimated by those who hnoiu 
and feel the vexations of delays on the road. They are from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours in reaching Chattanooga, and all 
this time riding in freight cars with only a blanket for a bed, and 
no chance for refreshments except at the Sanitary Stations. Men 
in such situations fully appreciate the work, and bless the friends 
at home for sustaining the Sanitary Commission. Besides coffee? 
soup and crackers, we now give them sandwiches, punch and ale, 
and the attendants are instructed to furnish plenty of fresh water 
to wash their wounds and fill canteens. Up to the 1st of July, 
there had been given out at this Station to fifty-six hundred and 
eighty soldiers, sick and w^otinded on the cars, four hundred and 
ninety-five gallons of coffee ; two hundred and forty-three gallons of 
ale; one hundred and seventy-five gallons of punch, and four 
hundred and sixty-five pounds of crackers. The Station was out of 
crackers a few days, and had to use hard bread ; arrangements are 
now made for light bread, Avhicli will be used with cold ham to 
make sandwiches. 

Very respectfully, 

Edward I. Eno. 



CHAPTER XX. 



In the progress of the war a large amount of business 
was created in the collection of soldiers' claims for back 
pay, bounty, pensions, etc. These claims naturally found 
their way into the hands of lawyers and collectors, too 
many of whom proved to be sharpers ; and, although pro- 
tected by all possible legislative action, the poor, ignorant, 
and yet so deserving soldiers, or soldiers' heirs, suffered 
great injustice from the rapacity of those employed by 
them. When it had become evident that great injury 
was destined to be inflicted, in this way, on those whose 
interests it was created to guard, the Sd^nitary Commission 
felt compelled to take some measures for their protection ; 
hence it established, at all important points. Agencies for 
collecting back pay, bounty and pension without charge to 
the claimant. This proved a most beneficent and efficient 
charity ; and the friends of the enterprise had the pleasure 
of seeing it assume such importance that fully half the 
claims presented to the Government, of the character I 
have mentioned, came through this channel. 

In the spring of 1863, a Free Claim Agency was opened 
by the Sanitary Commission at Louisville, and soon began 
to demonstrate its usefulness by becoming the medium of 
communication with the Government of white and colored 
soldiers from various parts of Kentucky, who were both 
poor and ignorant, and who, with the widows and orphans 
of deceased soldiers, constituted as worthy objects of charity 



504 SAlflTARY COMMISSION — WESTERN^ DEPARTMENT. 

as tlie Sanitary Commission has at any time taken nnder its 
care. This Agency was continued, with increasing useful- 
ness, till the autumn of 1865, when the organization of 
the Western Department of the Sanitary Commission was 
broken up, and the care of the office was assumed by the 
Kentucky Branch. 

In the report of Mr. Burkholder, given below, will be 
found the numerical results of the free prosecution of 
claims at Louisville ; but, as in all other departments of 
the work of the Sanitary Commission, figures tell but a 
small part of the story, and no one could see the throng of 
widows and orphans of the poor, the ignorant, the halt, 
the maimed, the blind, in whose behalf the claim agent 
was employed, and for a moment doubt that this was a 
great and blessed charity. 

Some months subsequent to the establishment of the 
Claim Agency at Louisville, Mr. M. D. Bartlett, a lawyer 
by education, and one who had long been connected with 
the Special Relief Work of the Sanitary Commission at 
Chattanooga, was appointed agent for Chicago, and opened 
an office at that place ; at the same time Mr. William H. 
Gaylord, a man of similar character and experience, was 
commissioned to perform the same duties at Cleveland, 0. 
The management of both these offices was subsequently 
assumed by the Branch Commissions of the cities in which 
they were located, and the business was maintained at their 
expense. 

In the fall of 1864 and the spring of 1865, Agencies 
similar to those I have mentioned were established in all 
the important towns and cities of the West. Most of 
these have since been suspended, but during their exist- 
ence each performed its good work for its location and 
neighborhood, and through this means some thousands 
of Just claims were presented at Washington, and very 



PEKSIOIir AIS^D CLAIM AGEJ^CY. 505 

many thousands of dollars collected and paid over without 
cost to the applicant. 

The work of the Claim Agency is not yet fully accom- 
plished, and its history cannot yet be written ; but we may 
safely say that it has proved one of the most useful and 
interesting branches of the work of the Sanitary Com- 
mission. 

The following brief reports from the Louisville and 
Cleveland offices will serve as specimens of the work 
and its results in the various locations where the Sanitary 
Commission planted its Free Claim Agencies: 

Louisville Claim Agency, U. S. Sanitary Commission, 

Louisville, Ky., July 20, 18(37. 
Dr. J. S. Newberry : 

Secretary Western Department U. S. Sanitary Commission : 
Dear Sir — In compliance with your request, I proceed to give 
you a condensed statement of the work of this office from the 
1st of April, 1864, the date of its establishment, to the 1st of the 
present month. 

Owing to causes with which you are perfectly familiar, the 
Agency was not as successful as it ought to have been during 
the first ten or eleven months of its existence. When I was 
appointed to take charge of the office — about the 20th of Feb- 
ruary, 1865 — I found that, on an average, not more than fifteen 
claims were being filed and forwarded for collection Der month. 
Necessarily a considerable length of time followed before it could 
be brought into perfect working order again and its reputation for 
usefulness fully re-established. The business of the office, however, 
very soon began to increase; and during the past twelve months as 
much work has been accomplished as could reasonably have been 
expected, I think, from the unaided efforts of one person. 

This report is brought down to the 1st instant, but the work of 
the Agency still continues, it being now, as you are aware, under 
the control of the Kentucky Branch of the United States Sanitary 
Commission. The transfer was made, with the approval and consent 
of the United States Sanitary Commission, on the 1st of November, 
1865. 



50() SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — \YESTEKX DEPARTMENT. 

This statement necessarily gives bnt an imperfect idea of the 
extent and importance of the work. The results, as yet, are bnt 
partially manifest, only a very small proportion of the claims on 
file in the several Departments at Washington, as will be observed, 
having been settled. The delay, which is very vexations to claim- 
ants, is unavoidable, and is owing to the vast accumulation of 
claims in these Departments. 

The report as to the number of letters written and affidavits 
drawn up goes back only to the date of my taking charge of the 
office. Previous to that time no record had been kept. It may be 
proper to add that only the important letters wi'itten are included 
in the statement, no account having been taken of those of minor 
importance. 

A large share of the business transacted has been on behalf of 
colored claimants. Being without legal status or family history, 
the task of putting their claims in proper shape was more than 
ordinarily difficult. It is true the regulations of the Second 
Auditor's office and that of the Commissioner of Pensions have 
been modified somewhat in regard to colored persons, but the very 
condition of their former servitude made proof of marriage and 
heirship difficult and uncertain. 

The whole number of Claims made up and forwarded to Washington for settle- 
ment, up to the 1st day of July, 1867, Avas 1,575 

Of that number there have been audited and allowed 660 

audited and rejected 90 750 

Leaving the number still in the several Departments at Washington \insettled 825 

Of these Claims, there were for Pensions - 229 

for arrears of Pay and Bounty ...521 

The total number of Letters written in behalf of soldiers, or the heirs and 

friends of deceased soldiers, respecting Claims against Government was... 4,086 

The total number of Affidavits and Statements drawn up by way of additional 

evidence sustaining Claims already filed was 510 

The total amount of ^loney (M)llected on Claims was !S;99,765 89 

It will be understood that no part of this amount was collected 
from Paymasters or other Government officials in Louisville, but 
the whole on claims prosecuted before the several Departments in 
Washington, chiefly in the offices of the Second x^uditor. Paymaster 
General and Commissioner of Pensions. 

From the foregoing statement it will be seen that, supposing the 
claims already settled give the average value of those still pending, 



PEKSIOX AXD CLAIM AGE>5^CY. 507 

the total value of all the claims filed up to the 1st of July, 1867, 
would be two hundred and forty-nine thousand four hundred and 
twelye dollars and ninety-three cents. 

Very respectfully, 

H. H. BUEKHOLDEE. 
CLEYELAXD FEEE CLAIM AGEXCY. 

The Branch Agency established at Cleveland by the Sanitary 
Commission, January 1, 1865, for the prosecution, without charge 
to the soldier, of naval and military claims of the late w^ar, was — 
like all similar offices — ordered to be closed at the end of the year, 
vrith transfer of the pending claims to the General Office at 
Washington. When the time of closing came, a great number of 
unsettled claims remained on the books, to which the proposed 
transfer would cause much delay and embarrassment, while the 
daily increasing business clearly showed the importance to the 
soldier of continuing a free Agency in this locality. 

The ladies of the Aid Society believed that they could not use 
to a better or more legitimate purpose the balance in the treasury 
than by assuming the expenses and supervision of the Claim office. 
This being decided on, the Free Claim Agency was established in 
the third-floor room, directly above the office that was still known 
as the "Aid Eoom." 

In taking chaTge of the Claim Agency there had been no 
thottght of maintaining it beyond the time needed for adjusting the 
claims under existing laws, but as new and important pension and 
bounty laws were soon agitated and finally passed, the same reasons 
which had moved the Society to assume the business were urgent 
for its continuance and it was resolved to keep the office open until 
the decision of Congress upon the proposed increase of pensions 
should be made known. 

The purposes of the Agency were again advertised through the 
press of Northern Ohio and its notices widely distributed. The 
officers and members of the Branch Societies were furnished with 
its cards and circulars, and requested to put them into the hands of 
every soldier who might need legal aid in adjusting his claims on 
G-overnment for services in the late war. 

The Aid Eoom circle was now broken up and the secretary and 
treasurer of the Society alone remained to direct the affairs of the 



508 SAIflTAKY COMMISSION — WESTERJ^ DEPARTMETifT. 

Claim office, in which an authorized agent was employed. The 
growing business under new laws of June, 1866, obliged them to 
increase the clerical force and to give their whole time and constant 
services to the minutiae of office work. 

A notary was employed in the office, which relieved the claimant 
from the fees ordinarily incurred in making out his papers, while 
all the additional evidence required was obtained at the Agency 
expense, save in a few cases where it could more readily be procured 
by the claimants themselves. 

Applications flowed in from every quarter — from former inmates 
of the Soldiers' Home — from applicants once registered on the 
books of the Employment Agency — men who had had reason to 
trust any phase of Sanitary Commission work. There were also a 
few prudent souls who came to assure themselves of the firmness of 
the basis on which this gratuitous Claim Agency was established, 
before entrusting their cases to its care. 

There were, naturally, twice as many claims presented as could 
be filed with any reasonable hope of success — although the Sanitary 
Commission's rules were much more flexible than those of the ordi- 
nary claim agent, whose fee depends upon his success. There were so 
many excellent reasons why they should all have pensions and 
bounties — they had served the stipulated time, with the exception 
of a few weeks or months — they had been discharged for disability 
and were permanent invalids — they were poor — were sick — had 
been good soldiers — the women liad lost their sole support in sons, 
husbands, brothers. One poor creature says, when informed that 
she could not claim the bounty for a dead son, " My life has been 
made up of just such disappointments.'' This is a sample of others : 
"I had two sons die in the army, which part of my dependence and 
support were. John died at Nashville, Tenn., and Benjamin at 
Milliken's Bend, La. John was twenty-three and Benjamin seven- 
teen years old. I have a husband, but he is very old, h^s poor 
health, and can't stand to work any more to support me. I am 
fee])le and our support and dependence is gone. They always 
supported us and sent money home when they were in the army. 
1 want to have you get a pension for us, as we are getting old." 

Tliere are volumes of these histories of service, dates and cir- 
cumstances of discharge — misfortunes, disability — want of employ- 
ment — griefs and losses — potent arguments for the Government 



PENSION AND CLAIM AGENCY. 509 

bounty being extended to them, and for the Sanitary Commission 
assisting them in obtaining it. Had the Agency been elected 
judge of such pleas, all the anxious correspondents might have 
been satisfied. As it was, half, at least, of their letters were marked 
with the disappointing endorsement — " Not entitled." 

There was frequent and gi'eat temptation to advance a portion 
of the expected pension or bounty to some of the destitute clients, 
and in several instances this was done, but experience proved the 
impracticability of opening a door which could not again be closed 
and might lead to embarrassing consequences. Many opportunities 
were, however, afforded the Aid Society of relieving those claimants 
whose necessities were personally known to it, by gifts of clothing 
and bedding from the surplus hospital stores, and sometimes by a 
weekly allowance of money, given, not loaned, them. In this way 
the Agency became not only the medium for the honest and 
gratuitous collection of claims, but also, to some extent, the channel 
for discovering and relieving the temporary wants of the applicants. 
The suffering sometimes caused through delay in the settlement of 
pension claims w^as deeply felt by the ladies of the Aid Society, and 
many attempts were made to soften the disappointment and make 
clear the pressing perplexities. 

On the 1st of January, 1867, nearly nineteen hundred claims 
had been received, and it was the decision of the Aid Society to 
take no new cases, save those to Avhose collection it was pledged. 
Quite a number of discharges still remained on hand, whose owners 
had not yet appeared to make out the papers necessary to accompany 
them. Notice of the close of the Agency, except for the settlement 
of the cases it had already filed, was given through the Northern 
Ohio papers. 

It was believed that the Agency could be saved some expense by 
paying an agent so much per claim, and allowing him to receive 
new cases upon his own responsibility. This arrangement was 
accordingly entered upon July 1, 1867, those having applications 
filed through the Agency being notified of the change through a 
circular, which also clearly stated that the Sanitary Commission 
had no connection]^with new business assumed by the agent. 

The whole number of claims filed through the Agency of the 
Cleveland Branch Sanitary Commission amounted to eighteen 
hundred and ninety. A classified list of these cases, and a detailed 



510 SAl:^ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

statement of the expenses of the Agency are appended to this brief 
report. The estimate of the amount collected for soldiers through 
the Claim Agency is nearly three hundred thousand dollars, 
averaging a pension case at the value of five years' payment. The 
claims have been adjusted at a saving to the soldiers of over seven- 
teen thousand dollars, taking as a standard the ordinary legal 
charges of claim agents, exclusive of notarial fees and other inci- 
dental expenses. The amount expended for such items was a large 
additional sum. 

CLEVELAND FREE CLAIM AGENCY. 

STATEMENT. 

NUMBER OF CASES FILED. 

Invalid Pension 97 

Increase Invalid Pension.. 118 

■\Vi d o w ' s Pe n s i o n 26 

Increase Widow's Pension 67 

Mother's Pension 15 

Guardian's Pension 3 

Guardian's Pension and Increase 6 

Transfer Pension 6 

Arrears Pension 1 

Arrears Pay and Bounty 167 

Pension Money 45 

Additional Bounty, Act July 28th.. 1113 

Heirs' Additional Bounty, Act July 28th 200 

Artificial Limbs 3 

Three Months' Pay 7 

Commutation of Rations 13 

Miscellaneous Cases 3 

Total 1890 

EXPENSE ACCOUNT. 

By paid salaries Agents and Clerks $4,41993 

" printing and advertising 72973 

" stationery, postage, legal blanks and record books 1,02755 

*' notarial fees 31258 

" office expenses, desks, safe and notary seal 25468 

*' expenses of collecting claims at Ohio State Soldiers' Home 3977 

Total $6,78424 



CHAPTER XXI. 



Amoa^g the unpremeditated forms wliicli the Relief work 
of the Sanitary Commission assumed during the progress 
of the war, the last to be mentioned is the Employment 
Agenc}^, which came in as a natural sequence of the pre- 
liminary measures taken by the Commission for the benefit 
of the soldier in the constantly varying phases of his con- 
dition and wants. 

Among those who had served for a longer or shorter 
time in the army — even though returning to civil life with 
unmutilate^l bodies and unimpaired strength — it was inevi- 
table that many should find themselves displaced from the 
niches they had held in society previous to the war, and 
disconnected witli the chain of persons and events by 
whicli they liad maintained their position in the struggle 
of life. Many patriotic and noble-hearted employers had 
favored the enlistment of those in their service by pledging 
to them, on their return, a restitution to the positions which 
they were compelled to abandon. Some even went so far 
as to continue the salaries to those who would necessarily 
make a great pecuniary sacrifice by going into the service 
of the Government. Much the larger number, however, on 
their return to civil life found themselves completely adrift ; 
and it was a x^nre and practical charity which took these 
men by the hand, and aided them in regaining positions by 
which they could earn an honorable independence. The 
communities in whose defense they had periled tlieir lives 



512 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

could do no less than offer them this trifling reward for all 
the}^ had done and suffered. 

To those, however, w^ho came back from the war bring- 
ing only mutilated fragments of their former complete and 
robust frames, or, w^eakened by disease, only the shadows 
of their former selves, society owed a still greater debt, and 
humanity made far stronger appeals. In acknowledgment 
of this debt, and, so far as possible, to compensate them for 
the losses they had suffered, the Employment Agency of 
the Sanitary Commission was organized, to give to the w^ar- 
w^orn and disabled veterans of our army the encouragement 
and sj'inpathy they had so richly earned, and the aid of all 
its manifold machineiy and warm-hearted co-laborers in 
their efforts to avoid a condition of helpless and useless 
dependence from which the American citizen so naturally 
and strongly revolts. Having this purpose in view, the 
Agencies of the Sanitary Commission, which were made 
Branches of the Employment Bureau, became gratuitous 
intelligence offices, both for those seeking employment, and 
for employers. Books of registration were opened, in which 
applications, on either hand, were recorded, with specific- 
ations of wants and qualifications — so that the returned 
soldier, on making his application at the Employment 
Agency, could pass in review, almost at a glance, the 
opportunities for employment offered in the locality where 
he chanced to be, and from these could choose that best 
adapted to his wishes or capacity, and thus be guided at 
once to such a place as he desired or was fitted to fill. 

To the credit of our people be it said that their patriot- 
ism was so earnest, tlieir interest in the soldier so active, 
and tlieir S3'mpathy with his suffei'ings so sincere, that the 
comnuuiities from wliicli oui' brave volunteers enlisted, as a 
general rule, welcomed them back with enthusiasm, opened 
their arms to receive them, and a})S()r})e(l them in the varied 



EMPLOYMENT AGEKOY. 513 

avocations of civil life with such facility, that comparatively 
little was left to be done by a public charity such as I have 
described. 

The spectacle exhibited by the greatest army of modern 
times thus quietly laying aside its arms and its mili- 
tary habits, and returning so rapidly and quietly to the 
arts of peace, was most gratifying to every philanthropist 
and patriotic citizen of our country. It was a spectacle 
full of encouragement to all whose fortunes were linked 
with our republican institutions, or who had looked from 
abroad with friendly eyes upon our struggle for self-preser- 
vation and liberty, but pregnant with warning to those who 
did not wish us well, and were watching and waiting for 
evidence that our form of government was not adequate for 
all the trials to which it could be exposed. 

From the cause I have mentioned, the want supplied by 
the Employment Agency was less pressing, and the work 
accomplished in meeting it of less magnitude than in most 
other departments of the Sanitary Commission ; yet, in the 
aggregate, the benefits derived by the soldier from this 
Agency were not insignificant, for many thousands found 
the gulf which separated them from civil employment 
bridged over by its means, and hundreds, and even thou- 
sands, are to-day installed in situations where they support 
in comfort themselves and families, through the influence 
of the Employment Bureau, without whose aid they might 
have been driven to become inmates of our alms-houses or 
beggars in our streets. 

Very naturally, the want of the aid rendered by the 
Employment Agency was most felt where the population 
was most crowded, in the densely -peopled districts and 
cities of the East. In many parts of the West, indeed, 
where labor was most in demand, and where, I may perhaps 
say, the people were most enthusiastic in their patriotism, 

33 



514 SAXITAET OOMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPARTMENT. 

the returning soldiers were all provided for at once, and 
none were left to beg or starve. In all the great cities of 
the West, however, a greater or less number stood in need 
of such assistance as the Agency was designed to render ; 
and it is to be regretted that each Western Branch of the 
Sanitary Commission did not take systematic steps to pro- 
vide employment for such returning soldiers as needed 
assistance in the communities where they were located. 
Much was done, however, to this end, in an informal way, 
by the representatives of the Commission in all our Western 
towns ; but only, I believe, in two — Cleveland and Detroit^ — 
was the Employment Agency specifically made a part of the 
operations of the Sanitary Commission. In both these cities 
the Employment Agency was introduced and sustained by 
the admirable women who have, as officers of their Aid 
Societies, done so much for the benefit of the soldier, the 
honor of their places of residence, and their own fame. 

No detailed report has been furnished me of the oper- 
ations of the Employment Agency at Detroit, only brief 
mention being made of it in the sketch of the Michigan 
Branch, page 248, Part II, of this volume, from which it 
will be seen that more than two hundred returning soldiers 
were aided in their efforts to secure employment through 
its means. 

The work accomplished by the Cleveland Employment 
Agency is more fully stated in the notes given below, with 
which I have been furnished by the Secretary of the Cleve- 
land Aid Society : 

soldiers' employment agency, 

CONDUCTED BY THE CLEVELAND BRANCH SANITARY COMMISSION, 

An Employment Agency was opened at the Cleveland Aid 
Rooms, May 1, 1865, upon a plan of registration furnished by the 
Central Office at Washington. The books give only a partial 
showing of the aid afforded l)y the Society to soldiers in search of 



EMPLOYMENT AGE:S^CY. 515 

employment, much informal and unrecorded work of this kind 
haying been done from the first year of the war. The early 
applicants, invariably disabled men, had been put into the way of 
obtaining work, if fit for any duty, or classed, with their families, 
among the objects of Special Eelief. 

On opening the Agency, it was advertised through the city and 
country papers, and circulars calling attention to it were distributed 
among business men. A blackboard, scribbled all over with an 
attractive enumeration of the talents and accomplishments of the 
applicants, was conspicuously posted on the pavement in front of 
the Aid Eoom doors, and every effort was made to bring employer 
and employe together. 

The permanently disabled men were considered the first claim- 
ants, and these were certainly the most difficult to place in 
situations. In cases where only half service could be done, and 
wages were small in proportion, a monthly allowance for house rent 
was given and the aid of the Society again and again extended. 
Tools and materials were loaned or given to sick men who could 
gain a trifle by working at home. If quite unable to earn anything, 
they were withdrawn from the books of the Agency and entered as 
pensioners of the Aid Society. Several young men who were 
disabled by the loss of limbs were allowed to remain at the Soldiers' 
Home through a course of study at the Commercial College, two 
were sent to city schools, and three became telegraph operators and 
offices were secured for them. 

Of those registered as able-bodied, nearly all were feeble from late 
illness and only very few were fit for full duty. The majority of the 
really able-bodied men were too lately from the army to have 
regained the industrious habits of civil life — some failed to report a 
second time at the office, others left the city upon mere hearsay of 
employment elsewhere, and several who were provided with situa- 
tions broke the engagement and were dismissed from the books. 
A few, known to be intemperate and unw^orthy, were refused entry 
upon application. These cases of unfaithfulness are balanced by 
those of several excellent men who are still holding positions of 
trust with their first employers. 

Young men who came in from the country to look for work, if 
without means, wxre admitted to the Soldiers' Home for three days, 
furnished with a card of recommend to employers, and directed 



516 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

where to apply. The permit for the Home was extended at dis- 
cretion, if it expired before employment was secured. Upon notice 
from the employer that an engagement had been formed, the 
soldier was often allowed to remain at the Home till first pay-day 
enabled him to engage a boarding-place. 

The employers' register' did not keep pace with that of the 
applicants, and it became necessary to make personal appeals to 
the business men of the city. The duty of placing the disabled 
involved especial ingenuity and persistence on the part of the 
ladies of the Society, much running about after office hours, an 
occasional day's traveling, hither and yon, with livery horses, and a 
continual boring of friends, kinsfolk and acquaintances. 

ABSTRACT OF THE CLEVELAND EMPLOYMENT AGENCY. 

Number of applications by employers 170 

Number of applications for employment— 

By able-bodied men 258 

By disabled men - 153 

Total applications for employment 411 

Number failed to report a second time -. 80 

Number of applications bv letter, not received 31 

■ 111 

300 

Number furnished with employment-- 

Able-bodied men 108 

D i sabl e d m e n 98 

Total furnished - 20& 

Nuniljer remaining: on the books unfurnished 94 

Number oiksc furnished, applied a second time TY 

KINDS OF EMPLOYMENT FURNISHED. 



Mechanics 24 i In private families 25 

Clerks and Copyists 27 ' Agents 4 

Farmers and Gardeners.. 17 | Post Office Clerks 4 

fjaborers and Porters 52 j Teleprraph Operators 3 

Teamsters 17 | Watchmen 3 

Railroad Hands. 9 : Poli(;emen 3 



Entered at school 3 

Physician 1 

Janitor 1 

Tollfj:ate Keeper 1 

Peddler 2 

Unknown ..11 

Total 206 



In turning over the books of the Employment Agency it is 
interesting to notice many names long familiar to the Society — 
iijiTues tliat apj)('ar first upon tlie supply book, when, the soldier on 
mai'ching away from lionu^ received some article of comfort or 
(convenience from tlie Aid Rooms; next, entered upon the records 



EMPLOYMENT AGEKCT. 517 

of the Hospital Directory, when, missed from the ranks after a 
battle or reported in some far-off hospital, he was traced at the 
request of sorrowing friends ; later, it is found in the list of those 
who, on the homeward journey, found rest and refreshment in the 
Soldiers' Home; again, upon the Special Belief books, where 
supplies of food, fuel, medicines or clothing for his family are noted 
beneath it; and when health and strength are returning, it is 
registered with an application for employment. Lastly, the soldier, 
turned citizen, will file his papers with the Free Claim Agency. 

Such a record shows the watchfulness of the Sanitary Commis- 
sion over the objects of its care, and is no less significant of the 
confidence that the soldier placed in this tried and faithful friend. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



AT 

CAMP NELSON", KY. 

Theee reports are given lierewitli, as illustrations of tlie 
work done by tlie Sanitary Commission at the West for the 
freedmen and refugees. These reports are by Mr. Thomas 
Butler, and describe onl}^ the efforts made in behalf of these 
unfortunates at Camp N'elson, Ky. 

A work similar in kind, and for the refugees greater in 
degree, was done at several other Agencies of the Sanitary 
Commission — as at Nashville, Louisville and Cairo. At 
Cairo over forty thousand refugees were aided by the 
agents of the Commission during the progress of the 
war. 

Most affecting histories might be written of what was 
seen and done b}' our agents among the refugees at all 
these and other points ; but it would be foreign to oui' 
purpose to give, in this history of the legitimate and 
specillc work of the Commission, the details of its many 
forms of incidental philanthropic labor. 

For months, and even j^ears, during the progress of the 
war, at many locations along our military frontier, the 
agents of the Sanitary Commission were the only repre- 
sentatives of a benevolent idea ; and as cases of want and 
suffering, common enough anywhere, were here immeasur- 
ably multiplied and aggravated, it liappened that almost 
(^very phase of human want and misery appealed to them 



COLORED RECRUITS AKD REFUGEES. 519 

for relief; and as the motto of the Commission was, in 
fact, '^JViJiil Tiumani alienum ^^^io,'' of the thousands 
who brought to ns tlieir varied forms of difficnlty and 
distress, few were turned away without substantial aid 
and comfort. While holding the trust committed to us 
first and mainl}' for the soldiers of our army, it was felt 
that all the victims of wars desolating power had a legiti- 
mate claim on our s^'mpathy and assistance. 

For the contrabands, or colored refugees, much was 
done at all our important Agencies; and the report of 
this work at l^ashville, Louisville, Yicksburg and Leaven- 
worth w^ould cover many pages with matter of the greatest 
interest, but ^\e have not space for it. Suffice it to sa}^ that, 
after helping the freedmen and their families at all j^oints, 
and in all possible ways, during the war, at its close the 
Memphis Lodge, with all its equipment, as w^ell as that of 
all our Soldiers' Homes and all hospital stores on hand, 
were turned over by the Sanitary Commission to those who 
had been constituted the special guardians of this very 
needy class of people. 

E E P O E T S OF ]\I E . B U T L E E . 

WHAT THE SANITARY COMMISSION DID FOR COLORED RECRUITS AT 
CAMP NELSON, KY. 

During the spring of 1864, Congress enacted a law authorizing 
the enlistment of colored recruits for the army. The President, by 
an earnest proclamation, called upon colored men to hasten to the 
defense of the country. Early in the month of May, 1864, Provost 
Marshals of Congressional Districts Avere appointed, and they, in 
turn, appointed their Deputies in the counties of their Districts, to 
promote and perfect enlistments and forward recruits to the District 
rendezvous. 

On the 23d of May, 1864, about two hundred and fifty able- 
bodied and fine-looking men assembled from Boyle county, Ky., at 
the office of the Deputy Provost Marshal, all thirsting for freedom. 
When this body of colored recruits started from Danvihe for Camp 



520 SAN'ITARY COMMISSION — WESTERJ?^ DEPARTMEN'T. 

Nelson, some of the citizens and students of that educational and 
moral center assailed them with stones and the contents of revolvers. 
On their arrival at Camp Nelson, they created great excitement, 
for they were the first body of colored recruits that had yet come 
forward. Eeporting to Colonel A. H. Clarke, Commandant of the 
Post, he refused to accept them, stating that he had no authoritv 
for so doing. 

There was, at this early stage of the question, great indecision 
and incompetency shown by those directed to manage the enlist- 
ment of colored men. Eecruits were hurrying to the army, but no 
officer was appointed to receive them. These two hundred and 
fifty men left their homes in the morning, suffering great violence, 
while the Provost Marshal offered no protection and promised no 
redress. They arrived in this camp in the afternoon, in obedience 
to the call of Congress, the President and General Burbridge; yet 
no order had been sent to the Post Commandant concerning their 
acceptance, and no provision had been made as to^ rations or 
quarters, or to protect them against the efforts of their late- 
masters to recover them. Night was rapidly approaching. They 
were hungry and tired, and the dust of sixteen miles of travel 
covered them thickly from head to foot. In these circumstances 
the men were grievously dispirited. They had suffered all manner 
of indignities for their patriotism at the hands of their enemies, 
and now they were punished for their loyalty by delinquent agents 
of the Government. 

Shortly after the Post Commandant had refused to accept them, 
the Provost Marshal of Camp Nelson, in an unofficial manner, 
as if to avoid responsibility, sent them to me, expecting them to 
be accommodated at the Soldiers' Home, although there was a 
commodious camp of vacant hospital tents, which would have 
shielded fifteen hundred men. 

When they reported to me, I took them to our spacious wash 
house, and, with the assistance of several employes, dressed their 
wounds and bruises to the best of our ability. I then threw the 
entire buildings open for their use, otherwise making the best 
possible arrangement for the accommodation of the white soldiers 
who needed them. 

From May 2'S, 1864, recruits arrived every day from the counties 
lying about Camp Nelson, so that early in June I had over fifteen 



COLORED RECRUITS AND REFUGEES. 521 

hundred colored men ready for enlistment. The labor necessary 
for the care of such numbers kept our kitchen busy day and night, 
and our dining hall filled from before sunrise till long after sunset. 
With this was the ceaseless retinue of outside wants, night and day. 
Hundreds of letters were written by Mr. Kadcliffe, Mr. Payson (the 
Hospital Visitor) and myself. Stories of trouble at home, wi'ongs 
committed on their wives, children and aged parents, had to be 
related, in hope of procuring redress. Discouragements pressed 
heavily upon them, which we sought to dissipate by all means in 
oui' power. Several of the officers of the camp came on pleasant 
evenings, and, for curiosity's sake, re^^ewed the men in line; but 
when any responsibility was involved they were careful not to be 
found, ^on-commissioned officers took a pride in drilling them, 
and the camp, throughout the day, was alive with squads on drill. 
They were not distinguished for superior dexterity or aptitude, yet 
the heartiness of their purpose incited them to untiring practice, 
which resulted in improvement surjDrisingly rapid. Their morality 
was highly commendable, and their subordination to their self- 
appointed officers, even of their own color, was a salutary example 
for soldiers of another caste. 

Soon after the introduction of colored recruits into camp, their 
old owners came in carriages and on horseback every day to allure 
them by all kinds of promises and threats, and ii] many cases to 
kidnap them back to bondage. On the 26th of June two citizens 
murdered a colored recruit near camp, and many other outrages 
were perpetrated in the immediate vicinity. In a neighboring 
county the ears of two recruits were cut off, and two others were 
fastened to trees in the woods and flayed alive. 

I have said the slaveholders attempted to kidnap and re-enslave 
those they had once owned. A single example will suffice for proof 
of the truth of the statement: 

A boy had been sent on an errand within the camp limits by 
myself. I was surprised at his delay; but finally he returned, and 
stated that, within hearing distance of the Home, he was seized by 
two men, forced into a buggy, and driven off. When the buggy 
reached the pickets, he told them he wanted to remain iu camp, 
and they compelled his captors to release him. He felt like a man 
delivered from the jaws of death. Similar examples of violence were 
of every-dav occurrence. 



522 SANITARY COMMISSION — ATESTEKN DEPARTMENT. 

The slayeholders frequently sent their wives, who brought with 
them the wives of the would-be soldiers, and through them they 
attempted to bring back the servant and husband to slavery. 

From the first day that the slaveholders commenced their visits 
to the Soldiers' Home to effect the recovery of the recruits, I 
found it necessary to make a requisition on the Post Commandant 
for a squad of soldiers to perform guard duty around the entire 
buildings, and to enforce the restriction that recruits from within 
and citizens from without should not cross their beat, ^one were 
allowed to cross the line except with a proper pass. 

The whole care, in fact everything which pertained to the 
management, protection and employment of the colored recruits, 
devolved upon us, and we were left to ourselves to devise and 
prosecute plans to keep them as intact as possible in the service of 
the Government. The labor imposed upon us was incessant, night 
and day ; and the utmost vigilance was demanded, in order that no 
event or incident within our field of operation should escape us. 

The schemes for the re-enslavement of recruits were numerous, 
and almost invariably resulted in the discomfiture of their pro- 
moters. Here is one of many incidents: 

I had heard that about twenty men had been induced by the 
Provost Marshal of Boyle county to return to their allegiance as 
slaves. The natui-e of the inducement held out to them I know 
not, but do know that passes were furnished them by that officer. 
1 immediately communicated the fact to the Post Commandant, 
and re([uested that he Avould send au order to the pickets, counter- 
manding the passes issued by the Provost Marshal. This was 
l)romptly done by Colonel Clarke. Meanwliile our office orderly, 
a, Michigan soldier, and a shrewd, dashing fellow, desired permission 
to take a s(piad of recruits, hasten in pursuit of the men who were 
I'citurning to slavery, and prevail upon them to come l)ack. Fully 
recognizing that all I had done to encourage the enlistment of 
negroes and deteat tlie machinations of tlieir enemies was unoffi- 
cial, and having no support from "iiny officer of the Government, 
T refrained from giving any positive instructions in answer to the 
request of the orderly. I simi)ly told him that I would spare him 
for the afternoon. Shortly afterward Ave saw him at the head of a 
liundred of the recruits, marching in military style, at double- 
quick, in the right direction. On the return of the orderly, an 



COLORED RECRUITS AXD REFUGEES. 523 

hour after, he reported that the Post Commandant's order was 
delivered, and the twent}^ men detained by the pickets. 

On their return to the Home, the orderly and his command 
met a cavalcade of carriages, containing the Provost Marshal of 
Boyle county and a number of slave owners. The vehicles were 
instantly drawn up to barricade the road, when the orderly com- 
manded them peremptorily to make a way, or he would force one. 
The Provost Marshal alighted, and inquired by what authority he 
had done this thing. The orderly, turning to the men, asked them, 
" Is there a man here who desires to become a slave again ? " Every 
one responded, with vehemence, ^'No!" — except a poor, weak fellow, 
whose master's eye was upon him. He stepped from the ranks of 
freemen, and entered one of the carriages with his master. The 
orderly then ordered the obstructions removed from the road, and 
duly arrived at the Home with nineteen of the recruits who bad 
been illegally ordered away. 

One bright morning in June the Provost Marshal mustered 
nearly three hundred recruits into line, and marched them to a 
grove, distant half a mile from the Home. I had watched the 
proceedings, and, having observed a number of citizens accom- 
panying the Marshal, my suspicions were aroused. I very soon 
rode over to the grove, and found the men drawn up in single 
line, apparently under inspection. I saw the Marshal select a 
number of recruits, whom I recognized as the healthiest and 
smartest of all he had contributed, and heard him direct them 
to start at once toward Boyle county. I immediately turned to 
the men thus illegally rejected, and asked them if they were still 
willing to enter the service as soldiers. They all replied, "Yes." 
"Then," said I, "there is no man here who has the authority to 
order you back to your masters; and while you have the liberty 
to return at your pleasure before you are enlisted, you have also 
the liberty to remain here until a proper medical officer examines 
you." The Marshal was very much enraged, and asked, " By what 
authority do you interfere with my business ? " " Yery much better," 
1 rejoined, "than that by which you presume to order these men 
back to their masters on the plea of physical disability, when most 
of them say they have never been sick a day in their lives. More- 
over, you are not an officer authorized to examine these men, with 
power to decide upon their fitness or unfitness for the service." He 



524 SAI^ITAKY COMMISSIOIS'^ — WESTERIf DEPABTMEN^T. 

threatened me with arrest — a tlireat I felt safe in disregarding, 
surrounded as I was by my sable friends and guards. I took the 
men with me back to the Home, and carefully prevented others 
from being enticed away. 

During a part of June the colored recruits under my care 
exceeded fifteen hundred; and finding it altogether impossible 

to provide quarters for all, I requested Major , commanding 

the large, vacant "Camp of Distribution," to receive some or all 
of them under his care. The Major, though a Northern man and 
an ofiBcer in the army, with ample facilities for doing what I 
regarded his duty in the matter, was averse to the emancipation 
movement, and positively refused to have anything to do with 
them. I then, as advised by Captain Hall, by giving my personal 
receipt, obtained sixty-five tents, and, taking one hundred men, 

pitched them in Major 's camp, and reported to the Major one 

thousand recruits; whereupon he very considerately reported them 
back to me. I however succeeded in transferring to him all the 
men who had been examined and accepted. I repeatedly endeavored 
to procure the Major's receipt for the tents, but he steadily refused 
to give it. Thus the whole labor and responsibility of the work 
was thrown by the Government agents upon myself and those 
associated with me. 

About this time fears were entertained that John Morgan, the 
notorious rebel leader, would attack Camp Nelson, as he was then 
at Lexington, eighteen miles distant. All the recruits, therefore, 
were employed to strengthen the defenses; and to their immense 
labor the camp is indebted for its present almost perfect impregna- 
bility. The enlisted men were worked very hard and, to somebody's 
disgrace, very poorly fed, receiving nothing but what could be taken 
with their bare hands, and not more than half rations of that. Five 
thousand pounds of new straw had been donated for their benefit, 
but an order was issued to burn it, and that order executed after it 
had been slept on but two nights. The men came to me every hour 
with complaints of abuse and hard treatment; so I concluded, if 
possible, I would remove them elsewhere. On a representation of 
the matter to Captain Gillis, the engineer officer under whose 
superintendence they were working on the defenses of the camp, 
he readily consented to quarter them among his own employes. 
The same day I procured wagons, and, with the aid of a detail, 



COLORED RECRUITS AND REFUGEES. 525 

remoyed all the tents and one thousand enlisted men from the 

camp of Major to that of Captain Gillis, who I knew would 

deal justly and kindly with them. 

Before the close of June, Colonel T. D. Sedgwick was appointed 
superintendent, and charged with the Avork of organizing colored 
troops at Camp Nelson. A few days after the Colonel's arrival he 
said to me, "Mr. Butler, I am very much gratified by the reports 
made to me of what you and your assistants have done. Had it 
not been for the Soldiers' Home here, I am persuaded that I should 
not have found a recruit where now I find five thousand to begin 
with;" and more to the same efiect, not necessary to repeat. 

The work of enlistment commenced at the Soldiers' Home. 
Everybody about me was deeply interested in the matter, and, 
in conjunction Avith others, we succeeded in procuring the appoint- 
ment of three unconditional Union surgeons for the examination 
of recruits. All were alive to the task of detecting plots laid to 
effect the return of the slave to his master. These (for many were 
discovered) were duly communicated to the superintendent of 
organization and the examining surgeons. In a few weeks two 
regiments — the 114th and 116th Colored Infantry — were mustered 
into the service at the Soldiers' Home, and shortly afterward 
swelled Grant's army before Richmond. Many hundreds of others 
were accepted, and ordered into their camps. Very soon after, the 
pressure upon us was lessened by the establishment of suitable 
camps for colored recruits and soldiers. 

Nine or ten thousand troops were raised at Camp Nelson, 
nearly all of whom found food and shelter at the Soldiers' Home. 
From the day when colored recruits came first into camp, it 
became necessary that permanent provision should be made for 
them; and after the throng had passed away into their camps, the 
north wing was retained exclusively for colored troops and the 
south wing for white, so that all soldiers of the army might find 
a home — without distinctions in quarters, quality of food, bedding 
or attention — at the Soldiers' Home. 

Throughout the District of Central Kentucky, the Soldiers' 
Home was extensively known, and not a little hated, by slave- 
holding citizens. At least five thousand letters were written on 
Sanitary stationery, and forwarded by the colored soldiers; so that 
to mention the Soldiers' Home signifies to many a master a place 



526 SAKITARY COMMISSION" — WESTERN DEPARTMEI^T. 

preferred by his darkies to liis own house. For myself, on account 
of the active part I have taken in making the recruits satisfied with 
the change they had made, to protect them in that change, and to 
frustrate the measures pursTied by the masters to recover the slaves, 
I have reason to believe I am cast out as evil and that my personal 
safety outside of camp is by no means assured. I could not, how- 
ever, help hailing the evil feeling that had been engendered against 
me as the lawful sequence of a full and just discharge of my duty to 
God, the country and the slave. 

A camp of reception was finally established, to which the recruits 
were at once taken, so that by the close of autumn the Home had 
settled down to its original life. 

We had given to the colored men every facility for their devo- 
tional exercises. Nearly every night they occupied the large dining 
hall as a place of worship, while on every Lord's Day, from sunrise 
to taps, their devotions scarcely ceased. Eev. Dr. Woods and Eev. 
A. L. Payson (Hospital Visitor) manifested much interest in direct- 
ing their worship and giving them ministration and information. 

It may be well to state that disease of every description assailed 
them with extraordinary violence, which made it necessary that a 
hospital should be early established for them. Until some of the 
sick became so far convalescent as to be able to nurse, it was very 
difficult to keep a corps of nurses on duty at the hospital. Nearly 
every morning it became necessary to select a number of new nurses, 
as during the night the nurses selected on the previous morning had 
deserted the hospital. The colored men then had a strong antipathy 
to duty in such a place. 

The colored soldiers, so numerously scattered over the country, 
preserve their memories of the Soldiers' Home at Camp Nelson as 
the first oasis they reached, and from which they were ushered, with 
a God-speed, into the world of freedom. Many blessings have been 
showered upon the Home, and very many will gratefully remember 
it as long as recollection continues. For myself and those associated 
with me in the management of the Home, the experience connected 
with those times will ever be a source of happy retrospection and 
great profit. 

WORK FOR COLORED REFUGEES. 

Another branch of our work, closely related to the last, from the 
labor it entailed and the interest attached to it, is perhaps as well 



COLORED RECRUITS AISTD REFUGEES. 527 

worthy of deseriptioB as those to which our attention has been 
directed, viz.: the care of the families of colored soldiers and colored 
refugees. 

Scarcely a day passed in all those months following the dehut of 
colored men in the capacity of soldiers, without bringing their 
wives, children and relatives into camp, either on visits or in 
pursuit of new homes, and scarcely a night has passed during that 
interval in which from one to thirty colored w^omen and children, 
without means, did not receive food and shelter at the Home. Our 
attentions to the wants of colored recruits gave them and their 
families so much assurance of our readiness to help them, that 
soldiers have frequently sent for their families, and on their arrival 
have come to us for entertainment as confidently as they would to 
their owm homes. 

This branch of our business becoming large and exhaustive of 
our limited means, we were compelled to proscribe the stay at the 
Home of this class of persons to one night, except in special cases, 
when they were relatives of soldiers seeking hospitals. Yet in the 
aggregate, hundreds of colored women and children, forming the 
families of colored soldiers at Camp Nelson have, like them, found 
in the Sanitary Commission a true and almost their only friend. 

An attempt to describe the crowd of colored refugees who 
flocked to Camp J^elson, their numbers, their sufferings, and the 
efforts made for their relief, would extend the report of the Sanitary 
CommissioQ relief work at Camp I^elson beyond reasonable limits . 
Suffice it to say that there were for months from five to fifteen 
hundred colored women and children in Camp Nelson, who were 
not only otherwise homeless, but who, in their destitution and 
misery, constituted the most pitiable class of refugees. Nowhere in 
the whole range of my observation of misfortune and misery 
occasioned by the war, have I seen any cases which appealed so 
strongly to the sympathies of the benevolent as those congregated 
in the contraband camp at Camp Nelson. Fortunately they were 
not solely dependent for relief upon the efforts we could make in 
their behalf; for, aside from the interest taken in their fate by 
Captain Hall, Camp Quartermaster, and Mr. E. D. Kennedy, a 
worthy man, who was appointed their superintendent. Rev. John C 
Fee and Elder A. Scofield, representatives of the American Mission- 
ary Association, with their colored assistant, Gabriel Burdett, a 



528 SAN^ITARY COMMISSIOK — WESTER!^ DEPARTMENT. 

noble and extraordinary man, with tender and indefatigable efforts, 
labored for their welfare night and day. 

The Sanitary Commission was prominent in all measures for the 
amelioration of their condition, and heartily co-operated with the 
good men I have mentioned in the care and assistance of the 
contrabands, so materially needed. In common with all others who 
came to Camp Nelson to do good to the unfortunate, Messrs. Fee, 
Scofield and Burdett made their homes with us at the Soldiers' 
Home, and received all the assistance and co operation we could 
render them in their work. Dr. R. S. Mitchell, who was appointed 
surgeon of colored refugees, also labored faithfully in connection 
with Messrs. Fee and Scofield. There were others who were 
nominally engaged in the work of relief among the contrabands 
at Camp Nelson, but, I am sorry to say, with little benefit to those 
for whom their time was professedly spent and little credit to 
themselves. 

Great difiiculties and discouragements were encountered in our 
efforts in behalf of those so utterly helpless and friendless as the 
contrabands proved to be. And — what was most disheartening — 
much of our difficulty and much of their suffering was plainly the 
result of incompetence on the part of those who had been con- 
stituted their special guardians. The history of our experience in 
this connection would be a sad one, and as it is likely to be given 
to the public by others, it is not necessary that I should here make 
further reference to it. 

In addition to all other causes of suffering among the colored 
refugees, disease Avas always specially rife among them. In the 
month of February, 1865, the population of the colored refugee 
camp was about eight hundred women and children, of whom four 
hundred were sick. Their hospital was always crowded, and the 
condition of the inmates may be gathered from the testimony of 
Mrs. John Christopher, of Louisville, a lady who spent much of her 
time in good works at Camp Nelson. 

After visiting the refugee hospital, Mrs. Christopher says : " 1 
found the poor people huddled together in rags and dirt. The 
wards were full of human Avretchedness. I found poor women 
(lying, amidst filth and suffering, for the simplest food, within 
twenty steps of the superintendent's office," (we are glad to say 
tliat the superintendent mentioned here was not Mr. Kennedy.) 



COLOEED RECRUITS AND REFUGEES. 529 

After doing for these people all things in our power during our 
stay at Camp Nelson, on the breaking up of the Home, in accord- 
ance with instructions from Dr. Newberry, the furniture of the 
Home, and other property used there was, with few exceptions, 
turned over to the colored refugees. 

With one more word we must leave the sadly-neglected colored 
refugees at Camp Nelson. A very large percentage of the people in 
the colored refugee camp had claims against the Government. 
Their husbands, sons and brothers had died or become disabled in 
the service; so, among the many demands for assistance which 
they honestly made upon us, were claims for back pay, bounty and 
pensions. For several months prior to the close of Sanitary busi- 
ness at Camp Nelson this feature of our woyk assumed great 
importance and labor. Mr. Radcliffe's whole time was engaged in 
the work of the Claim Agency. At least two hundred claims 
against the G-overnment exist in the colored refugee camp, while 
from every section of the District the families of colored soldiers 
still come into camp to commence application for such dues. 

CARE OF THE SANriARY COMMISSION FOR WHITE REFUGEES AT 
CAMP NELSON. 

Very soon after the establishment of this military post, and 
after General Burnside's army had opened the region of South- 
eastern Kentucky and East Tennessee, nearly every Quartermaster's 
train brought more or less families from their poverty-stricken 
homes into the camp. The war, as conducted by the rebels, soon 
made property and homes of the South untenable to high and low, 
rich and poor of her own people, and uncovered to the gaze and 
sympathy of the world the enormous ignorance and wretchedness 
of scores of thousands of her poor citizens. The cavaliers of seces- 
sion everywhere took the bread from the children and devoured it 
like dogs, and age and helplessness were driven without compunc- 
tion from the shelter of their own roofs. No property, however 
sacred, escaped their cupidity ; no man, however decrepit, helpless 
or innocent, was safe from their violence ; and no woman, in bloom 
or decay, in sickness or destitution, but had ample reason to dread 
their presence by night or day. 

The refugees were in many instances compelled to leave their 
homes and all they possessed to save their lives, while the majority 

34 



530 SANITARY COMMISSION — ^WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

started for this "city of refuge" because their fathers, husbands 
aud brothers were in the army, and no men wej-e left to afford them 
protection and provide them subsistence. In these cases the action 
of our Government was in keeping with its Christianity and intel- 
ligence, as well as with the great moral issues which it represented 
in the war, and, in striking contrast with the whole course and 
character of the psuedo Confederacy, made the most ample provision 
possible for the relief of all innocent sufferers, of whatever age, sex 
or color, that it was possible for it to do. Orders were issued for the 
distribution of subsistence to needy refugees at all important mili- 
tary points, of which Camp JSTelson was one, and though from its 
position the number of objects of military charity who gathered 
there was less than at some localities further South, in the aggre- 
gate they amounted to thousands. The number of refugees who 
pilgrimed as far as this point, or others similarly designated, was by 
no means the sum total of such fugitives from oppression. In one 
journey through East Tennessee I came in contact with hundreds 
who sternly contested every mile they placed between" themselves 
and their hearthstones. Often merely concealing themselves in 
the nearest caves or forests ; or, for awhile seeking asylum in more 
populous neighborhoods, ever and anon they returned to their 
homes and remained in their accustomed routine of life until 
another approach of their enemies again drove them away in 
pursuit of personal safety. 'The privations and sufferings of those 
who encountered the long journey to this camp were extremely 
severe, many dying on the rocky hills or by the dreary roadside, and 
in nearly every instance the sight which nearly every family on 
arriving presented, was intensely pitiable. Humanity could not 
look on its own kind so unfortunate and wretched without instant 
jjromp tings to relieve their wants, and at least temporarily to 
provide them food and shelter. For some months, until provision 
for their reception and care was instituted, they were allowed to 
remain in the wagon camps until they could find some building 
which they could occupy. The Post Commandant, however, felt his 
responsibility to these people, and sought as far as possible to meet 
it. Buildings were set apart for their use. Eations were issued, 
an officer appointed to devote himself solely to their care, a surgeon 
and hospital appropriated, and access opened to the seat of authority 
at all times. Thus all possible measures were adopted by the 



COLORED RECRUITS AI^D REFUGEES. 531 

representatives of the Goyernment to express its design to provide 
for such people as were refugees by necessity of their fidelity and 
loyalty, and as far as possible to relieve the sufferings which had 
been thereby occasioned. 

Until February, 1864, the Sanitary Commission was not called 
upon to do more than furnish some comforts for sick women and 
children, and to co-operate with Post Quartermasters in the general 
care of refugees. The Soldiers' Home was, however, by this time 
erected, and the number of refugees arriving being too large to find 
shelter in the few houses appropriated to them in camp, I admitted 
several members of one family, numbering forty persons, coming in 
by wagon train, and within three days procured their removal to 
Cincinnati. After their departure others came, and from the 
scarcity of accommodations in the camp I adopted a rule to admit 
to the Home such persons as were willing and able to go ISTorth. 
To such were furnished meals, lodgings, clothing, Government 
transportation, all necessary information, and a man to attend them 
to the cars and render such assistance as was required. To these 
people — almost invariably without means — we furnished food for 
the journey and small sums of money, without which delays and 
suffering by the way would have invariably happened. In nearly 
every case a letter was furnished to aid them in reaching their 
destination, and other assistance, if needed. The larger propor- 
tion of the persons so aided were women and children, either sick, 
destitute, or so situated as to be utterly unable to proceed further 
without help. 

After February, 1864, the Post Commandant and the heads of 
other departments sent all such cases to us, and it became no small 
part of our work to make the necessary provision for their relief. 
A series of rooms and cabins, which once comprised the homestead 
of a large Kentucky plantation, was first appropriated to the use 
of the refugees ; and up to the close of the Agency, by means of 
constant appeals to the successive Post Commandants, the same 
buildings were retained for their accommodation. Some families 
established themselves in their own way, but the authorities refused 
to issue rations or other favors unless through the Sanitary Com- 
mission — consequently the whole of the work of their care, in all its 
complicated details, devolved upon us. We drew rations for them 
every ten days, and, when practicable, fuel also. When necessary, 



532 SANITAEY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

and not otherwise procurable, we sent fuel from the Soldiers' Home, 
and in numerous cases sent our employes to perform acts of labor 
in their behalf. Our commissary sergeant regularly took their 
rations to their doors, and delivered them to the refugees scattered 
through the camp, and for six and eight miles beyond. During 
the winter months the delivery of their fuel required five or six 
days per month, and was attended with much labor. 

During most of the time the refugees occupied any portion of 
the camp. We found the Commandant ready to authorize all 
necessary facilities for their proper care. We have scarcely ever 
appealed without receiving full and satisfactory responses, and 
expressions of the great relief which our labors afforded the Post 
Headquarters in assuming the care and supplying the wants of 
these indigent people. General J. S. Fry, while Commandant, 
deserves special notice for his valuable aid and encouragement. 
There was nothing within his power that was not readily done; and 
the full authority of his office was exercised in a humane and 
exemplary manner. 

From the moment the refugees realized that the Sanitary Com- 
mission, as represented at Camp Nelson, would spend time and 
labor in efforts to secure their comfort and happiness, they became 
as dependent and troublesome as children, and still more unman- 
ageable. They made daily calls on us for labor which, in many 
instances, they were quite as well able to perform themselves. A 
general want of economy and regard for the needs of to-morrow, 
produced by the listless and unambitious lives they had led, made 
it necessary that the assistance rendered to-day be repeated on all 
succeeding days. As human beings, they were almost imbecile. A 
few were thrifty and cleanly, but, as might be expected, their moral 
character was in a very undeveloped state. 

Very naturally, such a class of people was involved in constant 
broils and disturbances among themselves. When a party comprising 
various families remained together, acquaintance and intercourse 
engendered petty sectional issues, and they resembled overgrown 
children, full of sinister mischief, whose sole employment and enjoy- 
ment were found in strifes and hostilities, frequently unreasonable 
and violent. Scarcely a week elapsed without one or more demands 
being made upon us to adjust these contentions; and nothing in all 
(jur work was so depressing and discouraging as the violence and 



COLORED KECRUITS AND REFUGEES. 533 

irritation which characterized their intercourse with each other. 
Eepeatedly they engaged in pitched battles, when the violence and 
obscenity of their tongues failed to produce the desired effect. 
These quarrels not un frequently constituted the entire intercourse 
of seyeral families under the same roof, and were found susceptible 
of no other termination than by wide separation of the contending 
parties. This was effected by sending some North, or by removing 
them to a safe distance in the camp. It was very sad to find these 
poor people thus disgracing their inevitable poverty and helpless- 
ness, and converting the solicitude of friends into comparative 
disgust. 

One of the most formidable obstacles in the way of our efforts to 
help these people was found in their unwillingness to separate from 
each other and to go among strangers, although, from the want of 
labor, a career of honorable independence was opened to all who 
were willing to work in almost any part of the North. Like all 
such people, ignorant and helpless, with little self-reliance and no 
enterprise, they herded together like sheep or savages, and were 
distrustful of strangers even to hostility. 

They were even more wretched and more pitiable than the 
"contrabands." After the removal of General Fry froni this 
post, they received less than one-third of the amount of food 
furnished per capita to the colored refugees. From the 1st of 
February, 1865, a large ration was issued to colored women and 
children, while the white received the substance of only about 
one meal per day. Fuel was continued to the colored, but dis- 
continued to the sickly white people. Good buildings were erected 
for the negroes, while the white refugees remained in old log huts 
and miserable, dilapidated places. These were troubles arising from 
the caprice of the Quartermaster and Commissary of the camp, and 
were justly felt and mourned over when the children cried for bread 
and they had nothing with which to satisfy their hunger. The fault 
was not with the Government, which made suitable provision for 
the poor and unfortunate without regard to race or color, but from 
a narrow and unreasoning sympathy with an oppressed race on the 
part of those who, absorbed in the great work of freeing that race 
from bondage, seemed to forget, or even disbelieve, that there were 
any loyal men at the South. Thus many persons, in their devotion to 
the interests of the colored race, allowed themselves to be unfeeling 



534 SAXITARY COMMISSIOX — WESTERX DEPAETMENT. 

and unjust to the women and children of their own color, at the 
extreme of human endurance from hunger, cold, bereayement, 
hardship and sorrow of every form, and these often the wives and 
children of men who had never been slaveholders, but had laid down 
their lives in the struggle of freedom against slavery. 

While ourselves doing and risking far more for the freedmen 
than for the white refugees, we can hardly be accused of partiality 
in behalf of the latter, and yet, during all the term of our adminis- 
tration of the affairs of the Sanitary Commission at Camp Nelson, 
we felt impelled to do all in our power for those whose circum- 
stances we have sketched; and it has only been matter of regret 
with us that so large a part of the eWls they endured were beyond 
the ability, not only of our hands, but of any other human hands to 
relieve. 

Many efforts were made on our part to have the aid rendered 
by Government to fugitives at Camp Nelson equalized to the white 
and black; yet, though the subject was regarded in its true light 
by General Palmer, Commandant of the Department of Kentucky, 
and orders were issued by him, distinctly forbidding the discrimi- 
nation to which I have referred, the officers having local authority 
at Camp Nelson united to render these orders inoperative, and they 
were never enforced. 

During the last few months of our occupation of Camp Nelson 
we had ever before our eyes an illustration of official partiality and 
injustice in a discrimination between two groups of our proteges, 
equally deserving and equally destitute and wretched, by which one 
received three times the amount of assistance from the Government 
that was rendered the other. Previous to the removal of General 
Fry, kindness and even-handed justice were awarded to all over 
whom he had supervision; but after the day he ceased to command 
there, white and colored refugees alike had cause to mourn his 
absence, and the entire aggregate of Christian sympathy and effort 
for the unfortunate failed to fill the void thus made. 

At Camp Nelson, as elsewhere, disease in many forms was added 
to the afflictions of the refugees. Small pox and measles were 
specially prevalent among them, and caused many deaths, and not 
a few were prostrated by them before they reached the camp; hence 
every unoccupied house and miserable hut for miles outside the 
lines was taken possession of by these unfortunates. Our services 



COLORED RECRUITS AND REFUGEES. 535 

were frequently required to procure for them niedical attention, as 
well as food and other comforts, and to care for the varied wants of 
those who were in such utter helplessness and distress. Within 
camp limits it soon became necessary to establish a hospital for all 
cases of eruptive disease, and the number of its inmates was, for 
months, large. Dr. K. S. Mitchell, the surgeon in charge, labored 
untiringly and tenderly among them, and saved very many to begin 
life in a new field or to return to their old homes in the South. 
Though Sanitary relief and medical skill were unsparingly bestowed 
upon the sick, death made many seizures among them, as one group 
of about sixty graves, and others located according to family inclina- 
tion, plainly indicate. 

We have here space for but a single one of many touching inci- 
dents connected with the efforts in behalf of the refugees at Camp 
Nelson. This was as follows : 

On a wintry night in January, 1865, a poor woman with six 
children applied at the Home for food and shelter. She told us 
that, three months before, the rebels had driven her and her 
children from their home, and destroyed their property; that 
her husband, who was a discharged Union soldier, in attempting 
to bring her to this camp, was captured, and taken toward Virginia ; 
that for many weeks she and her children had wandered, homeless, 
hungry and sick, through the cold and stormy weather, to reach 
Camp Nelson. We cared for them through the night, and, on the 
morrow, procured a building, into which we removed them, supply- 
ing them with food and fuel. 

Toward the evening of the same day, a sickly and dejected man 
came into our office, and requested food and lodging for the night. 
In answer to our usual questions, he stated that he had been dis- 
charged from the service, at Knoxville, six months before. Being 
overburdened with a great sorrow, he sought relief by telling us his 
troubles, from which we inferred that he was the missing protector 
of the woman and children who had come to us twenty-four hours 
earlier. He said that he had been captured by the rebels three 
months before, while trying to reach this camp with his wife and 
six children; that, after a long march with his captors, he had 
effected his escape, and returned in search of his family. The 
name of both parties, together with their residence, fully proving 
their relationship, I felt safe in telling him where he could find his 



536 SANITARY COMMISSION — WESTERN DEPARTMENT. 

family. He sprang up with a cry of joy — would not wait an instant 
for food — but, with a guide, started off for wife and children at a 
double-quick. There was joy in that poor, mean dwelling, that 
night, which few can realize. 

On the morrow, disease entered this re-united family, and, for 
many weeks, the poor man nursed wife and children with assiduous 
and untiring watchfulness. Yet death followed apace; and when, 
weeks after, with a bowed form and broken spirit he left our camp, 
three children were his only companions. 



PART IV 



FINANCIAL REPORT 



FINANCIAL REPORT. 



The cash expenditures in this Department have been 
almost entirely made from funds collected in the East 
and in the far West. 

The contributions made to the Sanitary Commission by 
the loyal States of the Mississippi Valley have equaled, 
both in gross amount and in proportion to the population, 
those derived from any and all other portions of the Union ; 
but they have been, for obvious reasons, mostly made in 
kind and not in cash. The great West is still compara- 
tively poor in money, but rich in the vast though uncon- 
verted capital of her fertile plains and exhaustless mines, 
and richer still in the conspicuous patriotism of her warm- 
hearted people. That which she has had — the fruits of the 
field, the treasures of the earth, the products of the loom 
and anvil — she has given without measure. 

The East, richer in capital, has given most freely of that ; 
while the extreme West, too distant to send her less valu- 
able products, has made her contributions in silver and 



gold. 



Thus it happens that the cash expended through my 
hands has been drawn directly from the treasury of the 
Commission in New York, while the contributions of the 
Western States, as they have reached me, have been alto- 
gether in stores — the cash collected by cities, towns and 
villages for the Sanitary Commission, by Fairs or otherwise, 
having been kept by each, to be expended for such things 
as could be better bought at such points than elsewhere. 



542 SAXITARY COMMISSION — WESTERJf DEPAKTMEN^T. 

The money expended by the Western Secretary was 
deposited to his credit in IS'ew York, and drawn npon as 
wanted. 

All such money was accounted for with rigid exactness. 
A statement of account, with vouchers, was forwarded at 
the close of each month, at which time the accounts of 
the Western Department, like all others, were balanced 
and closed. In addition to the careful examination of our 
accounts at the Central Office, at each quarterly meeting 
they were audited by such men as Professor Bache, Horace 
Binney, C. J. Stille, J. Huntington Wolcott, etc. ; whose 
high character for intelligence, conscientiousness and great 
business experience is a sufficient guaranty that they were 
accurately kept. 

The originals of these accounts and vouchers are pre- 
served among the archives of the Sanitary Commission, 
in the Astor Library, IN'ew York City. Duplicates of all 
are in the possession of the Secretary of the Western 
Department. 

The following table was oompiled from the detailed 
accounts of the Department: 



FIXAXCIAL REPOET. 543 



SUMMARY OF CASH EXPENDITURES 

OF THE 

WESTERN DEPARTMENT UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION, 

From September 1, 1861, to July 1, lSfi6. 



ADMINISTRATION. 

Office Expenses of all AgeBcies; viz.. Stationery, Office Printing, Postage, 
Telegrams, Rent, Fuel, Lights, Compensation of Officers, Office Furni- 
ture, etc $ 57,522 80 

INSPECTION. 

Salaries and Expenses of Inspectors of Camps and Hospitals 31,806 01 

SPECIAL RELIEF. 

Expenses of Soldiers' Homes, Lodges and Feeding Stations, Money paid to 
Destitute Soldiers and Soldiers' Relatives, Pension and Pay Agencies, 

Salaries of Relief Agents, etc 127,956 67 

Hospital Boats and Hospital Cars 17,211 04 

Hospital Directorj- a3.060 20 

SUPPLIES, 

Representing the Expenditures involved in the Collection, Transportat'on and 
Distribution of Hospital Stores of the Value of $5,123,256.29 : 

Purchase of Supplies .- - 332,620 69 

Gathering Supplies, Freight, Canvassing, Cooperage, etc 97,342 51 

Distributing Supplies - 98,894 67 

PUBLICATION. 

Publishing Sanitary Eeporter, Monographs and Reports 10,920 H 

Total $807,335 03 



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